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
Marylebone 1939
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
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24
Intimation Notices.
In 771 cases the nuisances were abated by the persons responsible for their
removal after receipt of a preliminary (intimation) notice advising them of the
existence of the defect.
Statutory Notices.
Statutory notices were issued in 198 instances. Of this number, 150 related
to one block of tenement buildings (Huntsworth Terrace). The notices referred to
such matters as dirt, dampness, verminous rooms, insufficient water-closet accommodation,
inadequate staircase lighting, and to other defects and conditions.
Details of the various nuisances detected and remedied, to the total number of 2,202, are set out in Table 16.
TABLE 16.
| Nature of Nuisance. | Districts. | The Borough. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1. | No. 2. | No. 3. | No. 4. | No. 5. | No. 6. | ||
| Houses damp, dirty or dilapidated remedied | 32 | 72 | 117 | 42 | 82 | 49 | 394 |
| Doors, windows, floors, ceilings, sash cords, grates and flues, etc. repaired | 23 | 101 | 57 | 18 | 51 | 17 | 267 |
| Verminous rooms | 3 | 15 | 264 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 315 |
| Dirty and verminous furniture and bedding cleansed | 4 | - | 15 | 5 | - | 5 | 29 |
| Overcrowding abated | 18 | 5 | 79 | 3 | — | 2 | 107 |
| Underground rooms (illegal occupation) dealt with | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Water closet defects remedied | 19 | 47 | 68 | 19 | 25 | 15 | 193 |
| Insufficient and unsuitable water closet accommodation remedied | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 39 |
| Urinal defects remedied | - | - | - | - | - | — | - |
| Drains and water closet stoppages cleared | 6 | 10 | 19 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 62 |
| Drains relaid or amended | - | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 19 |
| Soilpipes and ventilating shafts repaired or renewed | - | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 16 |
| Waste pipe defects remedied | 1 | 12 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 50 |
| Yard defects remedied | 2 | 12 | 49 | 19 | 15 | 5 | 102 |
| Wash-house defects remedied | 14 | 12 | 29 | 15 | 12 | 4 | 86 |
| Area defects remedied | — | 8 | 1 | - | — | — | 9 |
| Basement defects remedied | — | 8 | 1 | 4 | — | — | 13 |
| Roofs and gutters repaired | 15 | 37 | 52 | 20 | 15 | 26 | 165 |
| Water supply to houses reinstated | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | 2 |
| Water supply laid on to upper storeys | — | — | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| Water cistern defects remedied | 4 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 13 | 22 |
| Dung or dust receptacles repaired or renewed | 8 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 60 |
| Rubbish, manure, etc., accumulations removed | 3 | 22 | 21 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 78 |
| Animal nuisances abated | - | - | — | — | - | - | - |
| Rats and mice infestation | - | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 25 |
| Bakehouses dirty | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Smoke nuisances | — | - | 2 | 2 | — | 3 | 7 |
| Shops insufficiently ventilated or heated | - | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 25 |
| Miscellaneous | — | 17 | 16 | 25 | 17 | 22 | 97 |
SHOPS.
During the period under review 223 shops were inspected. In 25 instances
informal notices were served in respect of contraventions of the provisions of the
Shops Act, 1934, and in 22 cases the defects were remedied without the need for
further action. Statutory notices were served in three instances before compliance
with the requirements was obtained.