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
Richmond upon Thames 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Richmond]
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48
If this is to be remedied, the living rooms such as parlour or
kitchen must be used for sleeping purposes to separate the sexes, and
occupiers appear to loathe to adopt this course, but an improvement
could be affected in each instance by the families "spreading out"
or utilising all the rooms in the dwelling.
The overcrowding standard which includes the living room or
kitchen as air space in the dwelling is generally deemed to be an
unsatisfactory one in as much as so many of these kitchens, owing
to congestion of furniture and domestic arrangements, do not lend
themselves to the use of this common day apartment as a sleeping
place, and on hygienic grounds it would be an unsatisfactory
arrangement.
Many families in the Borough are on the border line of
overcrowding, and will not utilise the kitchen or living room as a
bedroom.
For purposes of comparison and general interest, we have
estimated that of the 523 families surveyed on Form B, if kitchens
were excluded from the standard, the number of cases of overcrowding
to be reported would be 264—or 154 in excess o) the
present figure.
It is interesting to note that of the 110 cases of overcrowding:—
| 1 family consisted of 13 persons. | |
| 1 „ „ | 11 |
| 5 families „ | 10 „ |
| 12 „ „ | 9 „ |
| 19 „ „ | 8 „ |
| 19 „ „ | 7 „ |
| 20 „ „ | 6 „ |
| 12 „ „ | 5 „ |
| 10 „ „ | 4 „ |
| 8 „ „ | 3 „ |
| 3 „ „ | 2 „ |
| Total 110 families. | |