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7
REPORT
STATISTICS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE
AREA
Area (in acres) 2,932 acres
Population, Census 1921 35,119
„ 1931 56,856
1951 67,273
Registrar-General's estimate of population midyear,
1952 66,950
Number of inhabited houses, 1921 7.150
1931 13,187
1952 19,284
Rateable Value, 1952. £560,781
Sum represented by a Id. rate £2,269
The Borough of Mitcham is an irregular oval in shape,
situated in North-East Surrey adjoining the south-west border
of the London metropolitan area. It is a fairly flat and low lying
area, with some 600 acres of open space including the 440 acres
of Mitcham Common.
The River Wandle, which forms the south-west and western
boundary, separates Mitcham from Beddington & Wellington
in the south and Carshalton in the west, as it runs a northwards
course towards the Thames.
The soil of Mitcham consists of up to four feet of top-soil,
with about ten feet of gravel sub-soil, except for one or two parts
where London clay comes to the surface. Below the gravel,
London clay extends downwards for 200 to 300 feet.
Mitcham, with nearly 300 factories, has a great variety of
industries, of which probably the chief ones are paint and
varnish, chemical, engineering, margarine and dairy products.
Unemployment for the year was not high, although somewhat
increased from 1951, especially towards the end of the year.