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
Acton 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Acton]
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14
It will be seen that the table is too elaborate for a detailed comparison
to be made with other districts, and even a brief analysis
of the figures would take up too much space. Each vertical and
horizontal column would require individual treatment. Possibly
some explanation is necessary.
Taken horizontally the first line means that there were at the
census 856 separate families which consisted of only one person each.
Some of these, of course, were lodgers and as previously explained
were reckoned as separate families. Surprise might possibly be
expressed that in 57 instances one person occupied 6 or 7 rooms,
and in 17 instances one person occupied 8 or 9 rooms, but these
figures are not in any way remarkable and are partly caused by the
domestic servant problem. In some districts these figures are much
higher and in Chiswick the number of single persons who occupy
large houses alone is not only relatively but absolutely higher. In
Ealing, the number is higher still.
The figures are of more importance when taken vertically. If
we again take the first line, it will be seen that 946 families live in
one room each. A large number of these are lodgers, but one of the
most striking results of the Census has been the uniform increase
in the percentage of families living in tenements of less than 4
rooms each, and a consequent decrease in the percentage of those
living in dwellings of more than 5 rooms each.
The following table gives the percentage of families in Acton living in various units of population in 1911 and 1921.
ROOMS.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 & 7 | 8 & 9 | 10 & over | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | 5.3 | 7.0 | 23.7 | 16.8 | 12.6 | 22.1 | 8.8 | 3.6 | 100% |
| 1921 | 6.3 | 9.3 | 25.5 | 18.3 | 12.6 | 18.9 | 7.2 | 1.9 | 100% |
One outstanding fact, though, should be borne in mind when
considering these figures, and that is, the reduction in the average
size of families which has taken place between 1911 and 1921.
In 1911 in Acton the average number of persons per family was.
4.41 and in 1921, 4.05.
This reduction in the average size of families is not local, and is
disclosed by the Census returns for other parts of England and
Wales. It is a natural consequence of the increase in the marriage
rate in association with a heavily reduced birth-rate and an increased
(allowing for war deaths) death-rate. The reduction in the
size of families, while it may not abate the demands of individual
families for separate dwellings, obviously justifies a review of the
general position by reference to the reduced requirements of
families in point of accommodation.
This reduction in the average size of families explains another
phenomenon. The increase in the number of families between 1911