London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Marylebone 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
4
SECTION A.—STATISTICS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS.
GENERAL STATISTICS.
Area of Borough : (a) excluding area covered by water, 1,427.8 acres; (b) including area covered
by water, 1,473 acres.
Rateable value of the Borough : £3,495,253.
Sum represented by a penny rate : £14,007.
Number of residential units (separate assessments): 23,114.
Population : 1951 census—75,764.
Registrar General's estimate of the home population (which includes members of the armed forces
stationed in the area and is used in calculating various rates in this report) : 1953—73,860.
| Total | M. | F. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Births—Legitimate | 802 | 397 | 405 | Birth-Rate per 1,000 estimated home population 12.16 | ||
| Illegitimate | 96 | 46 | 50 | |||
| Stillbirths—Legitimate | 10 | 6 | 4 | Rate per 1,000 total (live and still) births 13.19 | ||
| Illegitimate | 2 | 2 | – | |||
| Deaths (all ages) | 1,089 | 583 | 506 | Death-Rate per 1,000 estimated home population 14.75 | ||
| Maternal Mortality—Deaths from " Pregnancy, Childbirth, Abortion" (Registrar General's Code No. 30) | 1 | |||||
| Total | M. | F. | ||||
| Deaths of Infants under one year of age—Legitimate | 17 | 6 | 11 | |||
| Illegitimate | 2 | 2 | — | |||
Death-Rate of Infants under one year of age—All infants per 1,000 live births, 21.16; legitimate
infants per 1,000 legitimate live births, 21.20 ; illegitimate infants per 1,000 illegitimate live
births, 20.80.
Marriages.—The following table shows the number of marriages in St. Marylebone each year since the 1st January, 1943 :—
| Year | No. of Marriages | Year | No. of Marriages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | 1,119 | 1948 | 1,657 |
| 1944 | 1,097 | 1949 | 1,461 |
| 1945 | 1,583 | 1950 | 1,439 |
| 1946 | 1,538 | 1951 | 1,415 |
| 1947 | 1,736 | 1952 | 1,358 |
| 1953 | 1,290 |
The 1953 figure is 68 below the number for 1952 and 150 below the average (1,440) for the previous
ten years. The rate for persons married in 1953 was 35 per 1,000 of the estimated home population.
Deaths.—The total number of deaths (1,089) shown in Table 1 is inclusive of persons who, though
normally resident in the Borough, died elsewhere in England and Wales, but exclusive of persons
who, though they died in St. Marylebone, were ordinarily resident in other parts of England or Wales.
Deaths of persons ordinarily resident outside the borders of England and Wales are included in the
St. Marylebone figures if they occur in the Borough, as also are those of members of the armed forces
who were stationed in the area.
Deaths in 1953 were 45 fewer than in 1952, and after comparing the causes of death for the two years
there are no marked variations to which it is necessary to draw attention. Pneumonia (43) showed a
slight decrease over the 1952 figure (47), and bronchitis (105) an increase of 28 on the number (77)
for the previous year. Deaths from motor vehicle accidents (3) remained the same, but suicides
increased from 12 in 1952 to 27 in 1953.