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Health Department,
Town Hall,
Tottenham, N.15.
The Worshipful the Mayor,
Aldermen and Councillors of the
Borough of Tottenham
Mr Mayor, My Lord, My Lady, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit to you my Annual Report on
certain aspects of the health of the Borough for the year ended
the 3lst December, 1950.
The record of health in Tottenham, as measured by vital
statistics, continues to compare favourably with national figures.
Positive health, however, cannot be enjoyed by many families who
still live in overcrowded and bad housing conditions. Over 65%
of living accommodation was built in the nineteenth century, and
judged by minimum standards at least 2,500 houses in the district
are worn out and should be demolished Others lack amenities now
regarded as essential to healthy living.
This problem of rehousing occupiers of insanitary and obsolescent
houses, in addition to the pressing need of new families,
has been the constant concern of the Health and Housing Committee
and its officers On completion of the Tewkesbury estate a stage
will be reached where it is impossible to contemplate further
housing redevelopment within the Borough without increasing the
density of persons to the acre and erecting multi-storied flats.
The year 1950 marked the centenary of organised health
services in this district Research into central and local
records was undertaken by students of the History Study Group in
Professor J.M. Mackintosh's Department (University of London), at
the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The whole
survey was carried out under the expert guidance of Dr. Ian E
McCracken of the School, who has collated and edited a review
entitled "The First Phase from 1850-1873" which I am proud to
include in an appendix to this report. Acknowledgment is made
by the authors of the assistance given by my colleagues in the
Borough service and to whom I wish to add my personal thanks.