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 1881
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]
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68
in the Town sub-district in 1871, was 7.8, and in 1881, nearly 8.6:
in the Brompton sub-district in 1871, there were 7 persons to a
house, and the same in 1881. In the whole parish there were
7.65 persons to a house in 1871, and 8.11 in 1881, according to
the Registrar-General; but calculated on the basis of the rate-book
returns, the numbers were 7.92 in 1871, and 7.89 in 1881.
The density of the population, 55 to an acre in 1871, 61 in the
Town sub-district, and 41 in Brompton, had risen in 1881 to 74
per acre, viz., 80 in the Town sub-district, and 61 in Brompton.
The density of the population in the whole Metropolis is 49
persons to an acre, ranging from 6 in Lewisham to 216 in
Westminster.
The Metropolis Local Management, which brought your Vestry into existence, came into operation on the 1st January, 1856: the subjoined figures, showing the growth of the parish in the quarter century since elapsed, will be read with interest at the present time:—
| 1856. | 1881. | Gross Increase in 25 years. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated number of Inhabited Houses (As per rate books) | 7,600 | 20,666 | 13,066 |
| Population | 57,000 | 163,510 | 106,540 |
| Rateable Value of Property | 308,000 | 1,648,187 | 1,340,187 |
The increase within the last ten years, in all respects, is not inconsiderable, as the subjoined figures will show:—
| 1871. | 1881. | Increase in 10 years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated Number of Inhabited Houses, July (As per rate books) | 15,395 | 20,666 | 5,271 |
| Population July | 121,300 | 163,540 | 42,240 |
| Rateable Value | 935,720 | 1,648,187 | 712,467 |
These figures, demonstrating a transcendent growth, speak for
themselves; nevertheless, attention may be called to the fact that
in the quarter-century the rateable value of property became more