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
Walthamstow 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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10
The following Table shows the changes in the sizes
of family and that families of 2, 3 and 4 persons now total 66.0
per cent. of all private families, against 54.7 per cent. in 1921:—
DISTRIBUTION OF PRIVATE FAMILIES ACCORDING TO NUMBER OF PERSONS IN FAMILY.
| No. of persons in family. | Private Families. | Persons per Room. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1931. | No. 1921. | Increase or Decrease (—) | Distribution per cent. | 1931. | 1921. | ||
| 1921-31. | 1931. | 1921. | |||||
| 1 | 1,998 | 1,214 | 784 | 5.7 | 4.1 | 0.42 | 0.39 |
| 2 | 7,274 | 4,404 | 2,870 | 20.9 | 14.9 | 0.54 | 0.54 |
| 3 | 8,621 | 5,838 | 2,873 | 24.7 | 19.8 | 0.73 | 0.73 |
| 4 | 7,109 | 5,872 | 1.237 | 20.4 | 20.0 | 0.89 | 0.89 |
| 5 | 4,600 | 4,543 | 57 | 13.1 | 15.4 | 1.08 | 1.06 |
| 6-7 | 4,035 | 5,097 | — 1,062 | 11.5 | 17.3 | 1.32 | 1.32 |
| 8-9 | 1,027 | 1,839 | — 812 | 2.9 | 6.3 | 1.70 | 1.67 |
| 10 and over | 309 | 654 | — 345 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 2.12 | 2.02 |
| Total | 34,973 | 29,461 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 0.90 | 1.00 | |
Summary op Housing Position.
Table 3 gives the detailed findings by wards and compares
the number of persons per room and per house in 1931 and 1921.
Although there was an all-round improvement in the number of
persons per house at the last Census, there was a marked deterioration
in the number of persons per room in High Street and St.
James' Street Wards.
The over-all persons per room density has been reduced
from 1.0 to 0.90 persons per room.
The Table above shows that the density of persons per room
actually increased in the case of families of 1, 5, 8 to 9, and 10
and over persons. while that of 2, 3, 4 and 6 to 7 persons remained
unaltered, and it was merely the fact that these latter families
comprised 77.5 per cent, of all families which resulted in the total
figure showing an improvement from 1.00 persons per room in
1921 to 0.90 in 1931.
The following commentary on the over-all reduction in density
(which also applied to the County generally, viz. : 0.92 persons
per room in 1921 and 0.84 in 1931) is taken from the Census
Report:—
"So far as concerns this large component element in the
over-all redaction of density it is doubtful whether the numerical
reduction has been accompanied by an equivalent improvement in