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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10
The London death-rate was 2.1 below the decennial average,
and the lowest on record. The rate in England and Wales,
1.3 below the decennial average, was, with the exception of
1881, (16.9) the lowest recorded in any year since civil registration
was established in 1837.
The subjoined table shows the annual death-rate, per 1,000 persons living, in Kensington, in each of the last eleven years, and, for the sake of comparison, the rate in the Metropolis and its several districts, and the rate in all England:—
| Death Rate | 1883. | 1882. | 1881. | 1880. | 1879. | 1878. | 1877. | 1876. | 1875. | 1874. | 1873. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington | 15.5 | 16.2 | 16.6 | 17.8 | 18.8 | 20.2 | 17.3 | 19.5 | 19.2 | 19.4 | 18.3 |
| London | 20.4 | 21.4 | 21.2 | 21.7 | 22.6 | 23.1 | 21.5 | 21.9 | 23.5 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| W.Districts | 19.5 | 19.9 | 19.6 | 19.8 | 20.9 | 21.6 | 19.2 | 20.9 | 22.2 | 20.9 | 20.6 |
| North ,, | 19.1 | 19.7 | 20.6 | 20.8 | 21.5 | 22.0 | 21.5 | 22.1 | 22.1 | 21.7 | 21.1 |
| Central ,, | 23.2 | 23.9 | 23.2 | 23.4 | 26.0 | 25.1 | 24.2 | 24.1 | 26.2 | 25.6 | 25.1 |
| East „ | 24.1 | 25.3 | 24.2 | 24.3 | 25.5 | 25.0 | 24.5 | 23.9 | 25.7 | 25.5 | 25.2 |
| South „ | 19.4 | 20.7 | 20.5 | 21.3 | 21.8 | 23.0 | 20.5 | 21.2 | 23.3 | 21.0 | 21.7 |
| England and Wales | 19.5 | 19.6 | 18.9 | 20.5 | 20.7 | 21.6 | 20.3 | 20.9 | 22.7 | 22.2 | 21.0 |
In his Annual Summary the Registrar-General states that
"the extremely low death-rate (in London) was in great part
attributable to the comparatively equable temperature that
prevailed throughout the year, there having been neither
excessive cold in the winter months nor great heat in the
summer, so that the mortality both from diseases of the
respiratory organs, and from disorders of the bowels, was far
below the average." Again, "had the deaths in 1883 equalled
the average annual number in the preceding decade 1873-82,
corrected for increase of population, 6,726 persons would
have died in the year, who, as it was, were alive at its close."
The death-rate in the "Outer Ring" of London Suburban
districts, with a population slightly exceeding a million
persons, was 16.7. The rate in 27 great towns (exclusive of
London), having an aggregate population of over millions
persons was 22.5, ranging from 17.9 at Bristol, to 27.6 at
Manchester. In 50 other large urban districts with an
estimated population of nearly 2,700,000 persons, the
aggregate rate was 20.4, ranging from 15.4 at Barrow-inFurness
(population 56,000), to 26T at Ashton-under-Lyne
(population 37,600).