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to the
CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS
of the
FRIERN BARNET URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL.
Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present to you my Report for the
year 1903.
For the convenience of the Local Government Board and
those not well acquainted with the District, I repeat the following
short description.
The District of Friern Barnet is situated in the London
area, and is bounded on the north by East Barnet, on the east
by Southgate, on the south by Hornsey, and on the west by
Finchley.
It comprises 1,303 acres 1 rood (including 149 acres
occupied by the buildings and grounds of the Colney Hatch
Asylum), most of which is undulating ground, varying from
150 to 300 feet above sea level, the geological formation being
London clay with here and there patches of gravel.
The General Character of the District.—For the purposes
of representation, statistics, &c., it is divided into three Wards
—North, South and Central; and, in addition, Colney Hatch
Asylum—situated between the Central and South Wards—is
treated in my report as a separate Ward.
The population is unevenly distributed: thus, in the North
Ward a large partis pasture land, and the houses for the most
part are of a higher rateable value, being detached and separated
by a considerable distance from each other; and this obtains
also in the West portion of the Central Ward. On the other
hand, in the Eastern or Holly Park side 0f the Ward, the
houses are in terraces and streets. The South Ward is the
most thickly populated, the houses in the neighbourhood of
New Southgate Station and the South-West part being of a
superior character, whilst the remainder are the usual six-roomed
houses, inhabited in many cases by more than one family.
The population in 1881 was 4,405 ; in 1891, 6,716; and in
1901, 8,816; the average number of persons per house being
respectively 6.o1 and 5.6, as estimated from figures supplied
from the Census Office, by the Registrar General.