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
Bexley 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bexley]
This page requires JavaScript
SECTION A.—STATISTICS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE BOROUGH.
| Area. | ||
| 4,869 acres. | ||
| Population. | New Dwellings Erected. | |
| Registrar General's | Houses 199 | |
| Estimate mid-year, | Demolished Houses | |
| 1947 | 87,670 | Rebuilt 216 |
Relative figures for previous years.
| Population—Mid-Year. | New Houses Erected. |
|---|---|
| 1931 (Census) 33,150 | 1,165 |
| 1938 (R.G.'s Estimate) 77,020 | 1,170 |
| 1939 80,110 | 1,002 |
| 1940 77,670 | 113 |
| 1941 72,080 | Nil |
| 1942 77,020 | 5 |
| 1943 76,740 | 5 |
| 1944 71,130 | Nil |
| 1945 75,040 | 2 |
| 1946 85,820 | 82+64 demolished houses rebuilt. |
Number of inhabited houses at end of 1947 (according
to Rate Books) approximately 25,028
Rateable Value £612,416
Sum represented by a penny rate £2,480
Unemployment. Men Women Boys Girls Total
December 31st, 1946 336 38 19 10 403
December 31st, 1947 307 33 8 11 359
Social Conditions and Amenities.
The Borough of Bexley continues to be a healthy residential
district and is specially favoured in that it has ample open
spaces and recreational facilities for its inhabitants. Like
other districts, however, that suffered severe bombing during
the war, and whose population is tending all the time to increase,
housing shortages, at present, constitute the main barrier to
health for a relatively large number of its citizens. The
housing programme is being accelerated as much as possible
and it can only be hoped that, as the momentum increases, the
housing position of the Borough will gradually reach the
optimum standards which the Council are striving for.
8