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Statistics and Social Conditions of the Area.
West Ham is classified as the eleventh largest of the 121
Great Towns of England and Wales. It is situated in the County
of Essex, and is bounded on the West by the Administrative
County of London, on the East by the County Borough of
East Ham, on the North by the Borough of Leyton, and on the
South by the River Thames.
There are over 128 miles of dedicated roads in the Borough,
and 123 acres of waterways.
The district is a typical industrial Borough, although at
present there is a good deal of unemployment. Large factories
abound on the river frontages, West and South. There are
railway works in the North, employing a large number of regular
hands. Casual labour at docks in the South is the staple support
of this portion of the Borough.
By rail the Borough is only five miles from the City of
London, and, as would be expected, a large number of the inhabitants
work in London and district.
The new Dock Road in the Silvertown area, mentioned in
my report of last year, has now been completed. This modern
approach to the Docks was officially declared opened by the
Minister of Transport on the 13th September, 1934, and was
named " Silvertown Way."
Summary of General Statistics.
Area (in acres), 4,706.
Population—
Census 1931, 294,278.
Estimated population to middle of 1934, 276,150.
Number of inhabited houses (1931), 49,280.
Number of families or separate occupiers (,1931), 72,994.
Average Rateable Value—
General Rate, £1,500,294.
Sum represented by a Penny Rate—
General District Rate, £6,251.
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