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 1918
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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of the udder were detected, but in 80 cases other unhealthy conditions of the udder were found. One
cow was found presenting symptons of pulmonary tuberculosis ; this was slaughtered by the owner.
The number of cows examined in London cowsheds during the first quarter of 1914 Was 2,676, while
in the last quarter of 1918 the number was 1,843.
Housing of the Working Classes Acts.
The action taken by the metropolitan borough councils under the provisions of section 17 of
the Housing and Town Planning Act with regard to the making of representations and closing orders
is shown in the following table—the figures for the years 1914, 1915, 1916 and 1917 being included
for comparison.
for comparison. It will be noticed that owing largely to conditions brought about by the war, these provisions have not been utilised to any great extent during recent years.
| Metropolitan borough. | No. of representations. | No. of closing orders. | No. of houses demolished. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1014. | 1015. | 1016. | 1017. | 1918. | 1314. | 1015. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. | 1914. | 1915. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. | |
| Battersea | 185 | — | — | — | — | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bermondsey | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | _ | 36 | — | — | — | — |
| Bothnal Croon | 31 | 3 | 31 | — | — | 25 | 3 | 16 | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — |
| Camhorwell | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chelsea | 3 | — | — | — | _ | — | — | — | — | _ | — | — | 8 | — | — |
| Deptford | 5 | 5 | 2 | _ | 5 | 5 | 2 | — | _ | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | |
| Finsbury | — | 2 | — | 15 | — | — | 2 | — | 15 | _ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fulham | — | 1 | — | — | _ | — | 1 | — | — | _ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Greenwich | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hackney | — | 29 | — | — | — | — | 29 | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hammersmith | 37 | 26 | — | — | _ | 6 | 26 | 12 | — | _ | — | 3 | 22 | — | — |
| Hampstead | 9 | 3 | 4 | — | 4 | 9 | 3 | 4 | — | 4 | 5 | — | — | — | — |
| Holborn | 2 | 3 | — | — | —_ | 2 | 1 | — | — | _— | — | — | — | — | — |
| Islington | 21 | 8 | — | — | — | 1 | 8 | — | — | _ | 6 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Kensington | 13 | 9 | — | — | — | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lambeth | 7 | — | — | — | —_ | 7 | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | — | — | — |
| Lewisham | — | 6 | — | 3 | _ | 3 | 12 | 4 | 3 | _ | 6 | — | — | — | 3 |
| Paddington | 5 | 1 | 1 | — | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Poplar | 10 | 17 | 5 | 7 | _ | 10 | 17 | 5 | 7 | — | 2 | — | — | — | 1 |
| St. Marylebone | 1 | 3 | — | — | 13 | — | — | — | 13 | 6 | — | — | —' | — | |
| St. Pancras | 37 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 2 | — | 29 | 9 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shoreditch | — | 3 | — | — | _ | — | 3 | — | — | _ | — | — | 7 | — | — |
| Southwark | — | — | — | — | _ | — | — | — | — | _ | — | — | 32 | — | — |
| Stepney | 6 | 23 | — | — | — | 6 | 23 | 34 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 2 | — |
| Stoke Newington | |||||||||||||||
| Wandsworth | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | — |
| Westminster, City of | — | 2 | 4 | — | 1 | — | 4 | 1 | — | 1 | 11 | 8 | 31 | — | — |
| Woolwich | 18 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 7 | — | 4 | 1 | — |
During the year the Council had under consideration the question of the sufficiency of housing
accommodation in and near London. In considering the latter the Council had before it, so far as greater
London was concerned, the material which had been obtained by the Local Government Board in reply
to a circular letter on the subject addressed by the Board to local authorities.
As a result of its investigations the Council in October, 1918, issued a report on "Housing After
the War," from which the following extracts are taken.
"The Council has now in hand the clearance of one insanitary area—Tabard-street, etc., South walk
—and is committed to the clearance of another area—Brady-street, Bethnal Green
* In 1911 the Medical Officer of Health for the County of London stated that there were throughout
London about 1,900 groups of three or more houses which were either insanitary or so congested, badly
arranged, or badly situated, that they required to be dealt with." The number of dwellings in these
groups was 25,734, occupied, it was estimated, by about 195,000 persons. .By far the greater number
of these groups of houses was in East London and in the older and more central parts of the boroughs
south of the river.
"Apart from certain technical difficulties under the Housing Acts, the main difficulty in dealing
with undesirable houses or congested areas has in the past been that of re-housing. Of the 25,734 houses
above referred to, 1,564 have since been demolished and the estimate of 195,000, as given above, can
therefore be reduced to about 184,000, but only 217 of these 1,564 houses have been replaced by domestic
buildings for persons of the working class.
"There is evidence of a strong disinclination on the part of working people to reside further from
their work than they need. Local authorities are consequently reluctant to displace residents in their
districts unless it be possible to re-house them in the neighbourhood. In the more central districts it is
impossible to provide upon the cleared sites new accommodation on economic lines for the persons
displaced; and, even when, by valuing sites as restricted to the special purpose of re-housing accommodation,
they can be used for re-housing purposes it is only practically possible in most cases to provide
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