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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77
The following Table, No. 57, shows the distribution of private families according
to the number of persons in the family and the comparative figures for 1921. In the
last twenty years there has been a great change in the size of family. Families
consisting of 1—4 persons show an increased percentage of the whole, whilst, correspondingly,
families of five or more persons show a decreased percentage. The
average size of family, which was 4.27 in 1911, fell to 3.92 in 1921, and 3.61 in 1931.
TABLE No. 57.
Distribution, according to size, of Private Families.
| No. of Persons in Family. | Private Families. | Rooms per Family. | Persons per Room. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number 1931. | Increase or Decrease 1921-1931 | Distribution per cent | ||||||
| 1931 | 1921 | 1931 | 1921 | 1931 | 1921 | |||
| 1 | 2,930 | +641 | 7.7 | 6.8 | 2.23 | 2.06 | 0.45 | 0.48 |
| 2 | 8,525 | +2,082 | 22.3 | 19.1 | 3.59 | 3.33 | 0.56 | 0.59 |
| 3 | 9,282 | +1,569 | 24.3 | 22.9 | 4.05 | 3.85 | 0.74 | 0.77 |
| 4 | 7,462 | +1,144 | 19.5 | 18.8 | 4.43 | 4.37 | 0.90 | 0.91 |
| 5 | 4,718 | +328 | 12.4 | 13.0 | 4.71 | 4.63 | 1.06 | 1.07 |
| 6—7 | 3,945 | —553 | 10.3 | 13.4 | 4.86 | 4.88 | 1.30 | 1.31 |
| 8—9 | 1,018 | —534 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 4.98 | 5.14 | 1.67 | 1.62 |
| 10 and over | 296 | —148 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 5.27 | 5.64 | 2.04 | 1.88 |
| 38,176 | 4,529 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 4.08 | 4.04 | 0.88 | 0.96 | |
One of the recognised standards of overcrowding and one adopted by the
Registrar General is a density of more than two persons per room.
The following tabular statement shows the population scheduled thus in each of the last three
enumerations:—
| 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private families living more than 2 per room | 1,000 | 1,602 | 1,247 |
| Percentage of total families | 3.80 | 4.76 | 3.26 |
| Population in such families | 7,110 | 10,270 | 7,809 |
| Percentage of total family population | 6.32 | 7.78 | 5.66 |
The number of overcrowded families (as judged by the standard mentioned
above) has been reduced since 1921 by 355, and the population therein by 2,461
but even though, these 1931 figures are in excess of those of twenty years ago. In
the administrative County 13.1 per cent of the total population live more than two
persons per room.