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 1883
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]
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62
Kensington is still in process of development by building,
but to a very moderate extent compared with past years—
1861-70 for example. Owing to the increased and ever
increasing value of property, its rateable value rises higher
and higher, and out of proportion to the actual increase in
the number of houses.
The following table brought up to date exhibits the growth and wealth of our great parish since the Metropolis Local Management Act came into operation in 1856:—
| 1856 | 1883 | Gross Increase in 27 years. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated number of Inhabited Houses (as per rate books) | 7,600 | 21,030 | 13,430 |
| Population | 57,000 | 168,000 | 111,000 |
| Rateable Value of Property | £308,000 | £1,711,495 | £1,403,495 |
The increase in all respects, within the last twelve years, the period over which my official experience extends, is not inconsiderable, as the subjoined figures will show.
| 1871 | 1883 | Increase in 12 years. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated number of Inhabited Houses, July, (as per rate books) | 15,395 | 21,030 | 5,635 |
| Population | 121,000 | 168,000 | 47,000 |
| Rateable Value | £935,720 | £1,711,495 | £775,775 |
The above figures demonstrate a transcendent growth and
speak for themselves; nevertheless, attention may be called
to the fact that in little more than a quarter of a century
the rateable value of property more than quintupled and
that in the last twelve years the mere increase was double
the total in 1856. The population and the number of