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HEALTH REPORT FOR 1936.
The Urban District of Coulsdon and Purley was constituted by an
Order of the Local Government Board, dated the 1st November, 1914,
and came into existence on the 7th April, 1915.
Situated some 12-18 miles from the centre, and to the South of
London, on a portion of the North Downs, it is one of the most beautiful
districts within easy reach of London. Chiefly residential in character,
and with a population that has increased in a remarkable manner since
1921, it still contains large rural areas.
No large manufacturing concerns exist, the chief occupations being
building and the retailing of the necessities of life to the residents.
Unemployment is comparatively low, and in fact a steady influx of labour
from more distressed areas has taken place.
AREA AND POPULATION.
The District has an area of 11,182 acres, this being 2,547 acres more
than before the last revision of boundaries in 1933.
The acreage of each Ward is:—
Coulsdon East 2,812
Coulsdon West 1,253
Selsdon and Farleigh 1,963
Kenley 1,292
Sanderstead 2,312
Woodcote 865
Purley 685
Twenty-one years ago when the Urban District came into existence
the population was estimated to be 17,920, and this had increased to
21,493 by the time of the Census in 1921. By the 1931 Census this figure
had become 37,666, while in mid-1936 the Registrar-General estimated
the population to be 51,460, this representing an increase of 2,890 in
the last twelve months. Only about 3,000 of this total can be attributed
to the area added in 1933, which is still chiefly rural.
The number of inmates in the Institutions in the District in 1936
was:—