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
City of London 1965
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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SECTION II
AMOUNT OF SHIPPING ENTERING THE DISTRICT DURING THE YEAR
TABLE B
| Ships from | Number | Net Tonnage | Number Inspected | Number of ships reported as having, or having had during the voyage, infectious disease on board. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| by the Port Medical Officer | By the Port Health Inspector | ||||
| Foreign Ports | 36,836 | 71,955,304 | 1,440 | 12,876 | 128 |
| Coastwise | 18,777 | 19,366,677 | 5 | 1,799 | 5 |
| Total | 55,613 | 91,321.981 | 1,445 | 14,675 | 133 |
SECTION III
CHARACTER OF SHIPPING AND TRADE DURING THE YEAR
TABLE C
| Passenger Traffic | Number of Passengers—Inwards | ||
| Number of Passengers—Outwards | |||
| Cargo Traffic | Principal Imports | All types of produce and merchandise | |
| Principal Exports | |||
| Principal Ports from which ships arrive. The Port of London trades with all parts of the world. | |||
SECTION IV.
INLAND BARGE TRAFFIC
Number and Tonnage using the district.
These barges are of various designs and types and are registered annually by the Port of
London Authority.
There are approximately 7,000 in service and the aggregate tonnage amounts to some 500,000
tons.
These craft are employed in the transportation of a wide variety of cargoes over the port area
and extend their activities to the hinterland of the port by way of creeks and canals.
SECTION V
WATER SUPPLY
1. Source of supply for:
(a) The district-
All the docks in the London area obtain their water supplies from the Metropolitan Water
Board. Tilbury Dock is supplied by the South Essex Water Company.
The majority of the wharves are supplied by Public Water Authorities within whose area of
jurisdiction they are situated though several wharves have their own deep wells. A few wharves
have no water supplies available for shipping, in which case water required can be obtained from
water barges.
(b) Shipping-
Ships not able to obtain water from the shore supplies indicated above, or ships lying at
buoys in the river, can obtain supplies from water barges. Shipping at the Isle of Grain and
Tower Wharf obtain their supplies from The Medway Water Board and at Sheerness from the Sheerness
Harbour Estate.
2. Reports of tests for contamination.
The bacteriological examination of fresh water samples is carried out by St. Andrew's Hospital,
Bow for the dock area and River districts on the North bank and by the Devonport Pathological
Laboratory, Greenwich, for the dock areas and River districts on the South bank, while
the Public Health Laboratory at Maidstone examines samples from the Medway area.
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