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HEALTH REPORT FOR 1953.
The Urban District of Coulsdon and Purley was constituted
by an Order of the Local Government Board dated 1st November,
1914, and came into existence on the 7th April, 1915. It has
therefore been a separate District for just over 38 years.
Situated on the North Downs immediately to the south of
Croydon, it is a well-favoured "dormitory" suburb, with a very
considerable proportion of its area forming part of the "Green
Belt". Thanks to successful Town Planning Schemes in
the past there is comparatively little dense development, most
of the houses being well spaced.
The majority of the residents who work, do so in London
or Croydon, travelling to and fro daily. Locally there are no
really large manufacturing or other industries, most of the
residents employed in the District being connected with building
and decorating, with the provision of food and the other wants
of the inhabitants, or attached to the mental hospitals. The
amount of unemployment, apart from temporary unemployment
pending transfer, is still negligible.
AREA AND POPULATION.
The District has an area of 11,142 acres, these being distributed
among the wards as follows
Coulsdon East 2,812
Coulsdon West 1,253
Kenley 1,292
Purley 685
Sanderstead 2,311
Selsdon and Farleigh 1,924
Woodcote 865
At the time of the 1951 census the population was shown to
be 63,770 and this has only increased slightly since, the mid-year
population for 1953 being estimated by the Registrar-General to
have been 64,810 which is 630 more than his estimate for the preceding
year.
These numbers include persons resident in Institutions in the
District, the numbers of which at the end of 1953 were as follows:-
Cane Hill Hospital 2,536
Netherne Hospital 2,085
Russell Hill School 238
Reedham Orphanage 268
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