London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Shoreditch 1856
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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5
to observe the growth of the population in the six Registration Districts. For this purpose
I have drawn out the following table:—
Table showing the Growth of the Population of Shoreditch during the Ten Years, 1841—50.
| REGISTRATION DISTRICTS. | Area in Statute Acres. | population. | Births and Deaths in the Ten Years. | Excess of Population in 1851 over 1841. | Excess of Births over Deaths, in 1851 over 1841. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1841. | 1851. | Births. | Deaths. | ||||
| 1. Holywell | 68 | 16,740 | 17,245 | 6214 | 4125 | 505 | 2089 |
| 2. St. Leonard | 75 | 17,987 | 19,449 | 7093 | 5339 | 1462 | 1754 |
| 3. Hoxton New Town | 130 | 15,777 | 23,505 | 7343 | 5651 | 7728 | 1692 |
| 4. Hoxton Old Town | 116 | 14,022 | 17,431 | 5652 | 3190 | 3409 | 2462 |
| 5. Haggerstone, West | 132 | 12,037 | 20,276 | 6231 | 5284 | 8239 | 947 |
| 6. Haggerstone, East | 125 | 6,998 | 11,351 | 4217 | 2101 | 4353 | 2116 |
| Total | 25,696 | 11,060 | |||||
Actual excess of population, as determined by census, over natural increase
by excess of Births over Deaths 14,636
From this table we learn two most instructive facts:—1. That Holywell and St. Leonard's
have actually sustained a loss of population, between 1841 and 1851, as measured by the
natural growth resulting from the excess of births over deaths. 2. That of the enormous
growth of the population of Shoreditch, from 1841 to 1851, amounting to 25,696 souls,
only 11,060 can be accounted for by the natural law of increase of births over deaths.
We have thus left a surplus of 14,636 persons to be accounted for. Whence did
these come ?
There can be but one answer. This increase is the result of immigration. There is a
constant and rapid flow of population into Shoreditch. It is in this circumstance that I
see one of the most alarming dangers to the health of the district. The area does not
enlarge, and yet year after year, dense crowds of human beings, bringing with them other
crowds of the living creatures that attach themselves to man, are packed and squeezed into
that limited area. The most cursory glance into the courts and by-places of the district,
will satisfy us that the growth of the population has far outstripped the growth of the sanitary