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7
Annual Report for 1919.
A.—Natural and Social Conditions of the
District.
Population.
At the Census of 1911 the population was found to
be 27,750. made up of 14,143 males and 13,607 females.
The number of inhabited buildings was 5,129 and the
number of separate occupiers 5,897. The average
number of persons per inhabited building was 5.41 as
compared with 4.85 for all Urban Districts (excluding
London and the County Boroughs), and 5.05 for the
whole of England and Wales.
During the years of the war, the district was a
munition area, and the population was much increased
by the influx of workmen and women. Several large
houses and institutions were taken over as Hostels for
the workpeople, and in addition 4 large hostels were
formed by the erection of temporary buildings and huts.
The population was estimated to be 35,232 in 1915 by
the Registrar General, but has now diminished owing to
the cessation of war work, and at present is estimated at
30,525 by the Registrar General for the Death rate, and
at 31,798 for the Birth rate.
The district is almost entirely industrial, and the
large majority of the population is employed in the
factories in the district, the principal ones being engaged
in cable making, gun making, oil refining, manufacture
of mining and other machinery, and of asbestos and
cement slabs.
Physical Features and General Character of the District.
The district of Erith is about 3,859 acres in extent,
and is situated on the South side of the River Thames
immediately adjacent to the County of London which