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
Woolwich 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]
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TABLE No. 55. Housing of Private Families.
| Number of rooms occupied. | Number of Families. | Increase or Decrease. | Distribution per cent. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 1931 | 1921 | 1931 | ||
| 1 | 2,222 | 2,019 | -203 | 6.6 | 5.3 |
| 2 | 4,751 | 5,273 | +522 | 14.1 | 13.8 |
| 3 | 5,484 | 6,211 | +727 | 16.3 | 16.3 |
| 4 | 9,202 | 10,093 | +891 | 27.4 | 26.4 |
| 5 | 5,967 | 7,682 | +1,715 | 17.7 | 20.1 |
| 6—7 | 5,013 | 5,994 | +981 | 14.9 | 15.7 |
| 8—9 | 642 | 618 | -24 | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| 10 or more | 366 | 286 | -80 | 1.1 | 0.8 |
| Totals | 33,647 | 38,176 | + 4,529 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
It will be noted from the above Table that 46.5% of the private families occupy
dwellings of four or five rooms and 18.1% reside in six or more rooms. In the
administrative County of London the corresponding figures are 27% and 15.2 %.
The following Table, No. 56, shows the conditions under which private families
live according to the number of each dwelling.
TABLE No. 56.
| Number of families living in | 1921 | Per cent | 1931 | Per cent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single occupation | 19,367 | 57.56 | 22,567 | 59.12 |
| 2 to a dwelling | 11,784 | 35.02 | 12,890 | 33.76 |
| 3 or more to a dwelling | 2,496 | 7.42 | 2,719 | 7.12 |
| 33,647 | 100.00 | 38,176 | 100.00 |
Expressed otherwise, some three thousand Woolwich families no longer share a
common water supply, common sanitary arrangements, or a common letter box, but
the number of families living together in houses which have not been adapted for
such occupation has increased by 1,329.