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
Hackney 1901
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]
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69
In these proportions the different classes existed in 1889, when the
population was about 186,000 persons; since that date, although the
population has increased to about 227,000, no social events have
occured to warrant us in assuming that the relative proportions of
these classes have altered, especially in the direction of ameliorating
the lot of classes A, B, C, D ; on the contrary, I am of opinion that
the proportions of these classes have not only been maintained, but
in all probability have been increased at the expense of the better
conditioned classes.
My reasons for thinking this are, 1st—since
1889 there has been an increase in the cost of housing accommodation, and in the price of other necessaries of life; 2nd—although there has been a rise in remuneration of labour, this has been chiefly confined to skilled labour, and hardly touches the classes A, B, C, D. However, assuming the proportions of the different classes are the same at the present time, their numbers would be as follows :—
| Classes. | No. of Persons Year 1898. | Percentage. | No. of Persons Year 1901. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1,664 | 0.9 | 2,060 | 53,542 |
| B | 15,693 | 8.6 | 19,424 | |
| C | 10,758 | 5.8 | 13,316 | |
| D | 15,142 | 8.4 | 18,742 | |
| E | 52,216 | 34.3 | 64,630 | |
| F | 32,582 | 17.8 | 40,329 | |
| G | 11,034 | 6.0 | 13,657 | |
| H | 1,775 | 18.2 | 2,197 | |
| 140,864 | 100.0 | 174,355 | ||
| Unscheduled and in Institutions | 45,136 | .. | 52,645 | |
| Total.... | 189,000 | 227,000 | ||
Here it may be interesting to compare Mr. Booth's classification
with the Registrar General's table of persons in Hackney occupying
tenements of one to four rooms. While it cannot be said definitely
that rooms occupied by persons of the classes A, B, C, D must
necessarily be overcrowded, one is justified in the assumption that
these are the classes amongst whom the most overcrowding will be