London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Report of the County Medical Officer—General.
91
TABLE I.
Number of Homeless Persons found in the streets and on staircases distributed according to Sanitary Areas.
| Sanitary area. | Men. | Women. | Young persons. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battersea | 5 | - | |
| Bermondsey | 9 | - | - |
| Bethnal Green | 4 | - | - |
| Chelsea | 4 | 3 | - |
| City of London | 31* | - | - |
| Finsbury | 11 | 2 | - |
| Fulham | - | 2 | - |
| Hammersmith | - | 9 | - |
| Holborn | 3 | 1 | - |
| Islington | 38 | 30 | - |
| Lambeth | 29 | 3 | - |
| Paddington | - | - | |
| Poplar | 3 | 1 | - |
| St. Pancras | 8 | 1 | - |
| Shoreditch | 22 | 4 | - |
| Southwark | 41 | 23 | - |
| Stepney | 121 | 33 | - |
| Wandsworth | 1 | — | - |
| Westminster | 43* | 4 | - |
| Total | 370 | 121 | — |
* On the 9th February, 1912, the figures for the Cities of London and Westminster respectively were 130 men,
8 women ; and 187 men, 57 women. These are the areas most affected by the new Poor Law scheme referred to
in the Report.
TABLE II.
Common Lodging Houses.
| Sanitary District. | No. of Houses. | Accommodation. | Census on 14th February, 1913. | No. of vacant beds on 14th February. 1914. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men. | Women. | Couples. | Men. | Women. | Couples. | Men. | Women. | Couples. | ||
| Battersea | 3 | 99 | 66 | - | 73 | 37 | - | 26 | 29 | — |
| Bermondsey | 5 | 1,297 | - | - | 1,023 | - | - | 274 | - | - |
| Bethnal Green | 13 | 673 | - | - | 490 | - | - | 183 | - | - |
| Camberwell | 5 | 549 | - | - | 364 | - | - | 185 | - | - |
| Chelsea | 6 | 236 | - | - | 134 | - | - | 102 | - | - |
| City of London† | 1 | 455 | - | - | 447 | - | - | 8 | - | - |
| Deptford | 8 | 1,155 | 80 | - | 684 | 19 | - | 471 | 61 | - |
| Finsbury | 7 | 484 | - | - | 375 | - | - | 109 | - | - |
| Fulham | 2 | 43 | 51 | - | 38 | 41 | - | 5 | 10 | - |
| Greenwich | 3 | 121 | - | - | 90 | — | 31 | - | - | |
| Hackney | 7 | 498 | - | - | 365 | - | - | 133 | - | - |
| Hammersmith | 9 | 466 | - | 4 | 329 | - | 3 | 137 | - | 1 |
| Hampstead | — | — | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Holborn | 25 | 1,489 | 162 | - | 1,262 | 109 | - | 227 | 53 | - |
| Islington | 41 | 1,164 | 187 | 18 | 754 | 118 | 9 | 410 | 69 | 9 |
| Kensington | 22 | 401 | 267 | - | 282 | 146 | 8 chlan. | 119 | 121 | - |
| Lambeth | 7 | 693 | - | - | 541 | - | - | 152 | - | - |
| Lewisham | 1 | 30 | - | - | 23 | - | - | - | - | |
| Paddington | 7 | 195 | 37 | - | 140 | 16 | - | 55 | 21 | - |
| Poplar | 9 | 1,143 | - | 548 | - | - | 595 | - | - | |
| St. Marylebone | 14 | 1,094 | 109 | - | 940 | 85 | - | 154 | 24 | - |
| St. Pancras | 7 | 610 | 36 | - | 473 | 21 | - | 137 | 15 | - |
| Shoreditch | 12 | 764 | — | - | 595 | - | - | 169 | - | - |
| Southwark | 41 | 3,071 | 449 | - | 2,504 | 177 | 147 | 567 | 272 | - |
| Stepney | 53 | 5,238 | 667 | 180 | 3,887 | 434 | 14 Chldn. | 1,351 | 233 | 33 |
| Stoke Newington | 1 | 37 | - | 29 | 15 | 8 | - | - | ||
| Wandsworth | 8 | 175 | 5 | 16 | 150 | 3 | 5 Childn. | 25 | 2 | 1 |
| Westminster, City of | 13 | 2,255 | 62 | - | 1,965 | 40 | 2 Chldn. | 290 | 22 Oi | - |
| Woolwich | 22 | 465 | 51 | - | 371 | 27 | 94 | 24 | 1 | |
| Totals | 352 | 24,900 | 2,229 | 218 | 18,876 | 1,273 | 174 29 Chldn. | 6,024 | 956 | 44 |
Note. in addition to the figures above given, there were in Rowton Houses on the same night, 4,875 men
and 205 vacant beds.
† For the figures relating to the City of London, I am indebted to Dr. W. H. Collingridge.
23610 N 2