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In the old parishes the estimated populations are therefore:—
Woolwich 29,273
Plumstead 70,397
Eltham 49,730
Inhabited Houses.
The number of inhabited houses at the time of the Census in 1931 was 29,870.
These were occupied by 38,176 families. At the end of 1937, according to the rate
books, the number of inhabited houses was 34,497.
Rateable Value, etc.
The rateable value of the Borough in October, 1937, was £1,197,247 and the
sum represented by a penny rate at that date was £4,889.
Physical Features and General Characteristics of the Area.
In the physical configuration of the Borough the outstanding feature is Shooters
Hill, which rises over 400 feet above sea-level. At a little lower level, on the
Woolwich and Plumstead side, there is the well-marked plateau of Woolwich and
Plumstead Commons, due to the erosion of local clay from off the pebble beds.
Lower down still is the level plain of the Thames. Southward, in Eltham and Lee,
the land, after sloping downwards from Shooters Hill, rises slightly again in Eltham
and then falls away towards New Eltham and Lee, but rises again as it approaches
Chislehurst. In the main this area is composed of London clay although there is
a considerable amount of sand and gravel in Avery Hill Ward.
Social Conditions.
In my Annual Report for 1936 I published a Table taken from the Census
Returns of 1931 which set out under generalised headings the total number of males
and females engaged in occupations at ages of 14 years and upwards.
There was little unemployment in Woolwich during the year.
Sickness and Invalidity.
There have been no causes of sickness or invalidity which have been specially
noteworthy in the area during the year. I am unacquainted with any conditions
of occupation which appear to have had a prejudicial effect on health and I have
no evidence, statistically or otherwise, that unemployment has exercised any
significant influence on the health or physique of children or adults.