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
Kensington 1878
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]
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persons who, in the older parts of the Metropolis, find shelter in
dwellings that by comparison might be described as squalid. Rents
are high, as might be expected, and there is a good deal of overcrowding,
which leads me to fear that ere long, unless a remedy be
provided, of which I do not see any present prospect, the Kensington
rate of mortality may approximate more nearly to the Metropolitan
rate than heretofore.
The propriety of dividing the "Town" sub-district, which is exceptionally
large and populous, is under the consideration of Authorities
at the present time.* At present, as before stated, the "Town"
and " Brompton" sub-districts make up the parish of Kensington; but
"Kensington" as a "registration district"—the parish and the district
being often confounded—comprises a great deal more; viz., the parishes
of Paddington, Fulham, and Hammersmith. The subjoined figures
show the relative proportions of Kensington parish, and the other
The subjoined figures show the relative proportions of Kensington parish, and the otherparishes comprised in the registration district of Kensington:—
| Area in statute acres. | Inhabited houses, 1871. | Population, 1871. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington | 2,190 | 15,735 | 120,299 |
| Paddington | 1,251 | 11,847 | 96,813 |
| Hammersmith | 2,287 | 6,719 | 42,691 |
| Fulham | 1,716 | 3,469 | 23,350 |
For some parochial purposes Kensington parish is divided into wards.
The subjoined figures show the acreage of the several wards, and other particulars of interest which relate to the census year, 1871.
| Name of Ward. | Area in statute acres. | Inhabited houses, 1871. | Population, 1871. | Rateable annual value of property 1871. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Trinity, Brompton | 439 | 3,224 | 22,128 | £246,716 |
| St. John, Notting Hill and St. James, Norland | 905 | 7,730 | 62,475 | £365,012 |
| St. Mary Abbotts | 846 | 4,781 | 35,696 | £323,992 |
| 2,190 | 15,735 | 120,299 | £935,720 |
THE SEVEN PRINCIPAL ZYM0TIC DISEASES.
Whooping Cough in point of fatality heads the list of the diseases
of the Zymotic class, having caused 185 deaths in 1878, of which 164
* The projected division of the sub-district was not carried out; other arrangements for the
convenience of the parishioners having been made.