London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Paddington 1869
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington]
This page requires JavaScript
7
I am prepared to give details of two cases that
came to my notice within this year, in which Inquests
were held, where death, according to Medical testimony
had been accelerated, if not caused solely by the want
of vital air for respiration.
Many families are living happily on their limited
means, paying 3s. 6d. or 4s. a-week rent for a kitchen
in a clean and respectable house. It is a puzzle to me
to know what to do with a family so circumstanced,
and more so, if the people are dirty in their habits,
and if Scarlatina or Measles break out with one of the
children. They cannot be treated as paupers.
The extent to which overcrowding has been abated in some streets of this parish may be demonstrated by comparing returns of former inspections with the most recent one.
| Streets and Places. | Houses under Inspection. | Population. | Holdings | Rooms. | In each Room. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courts of HarrowRoad—1865 | 29 | 224 | 76 | . . | 3.0 |
| „ „ 1869 | 29 | 214 | 56 | 80 | 2.6 |
| Brindley Street 1865-66 | 63 | 1260 | 250 | 360 | 3.5 |
| 1868 | 61 | 627 | 205 | 380 | 1.6 |
| Salem Gardens 1865 | 34 | 357 | 79 | . . | . . |
| 1868 | 31 | 193 | 71 | 94 | . . |
| North Wharf Road 1865 | 49 | 592 | . . | 190 | 3.3 |
| „ „ 1869 | 48 | 439 | 139 | 215 | 2.0 |
| Union Place 1865 | 23 | 160 | 40 | 70 | 2.3 |
| „ „ 1869 | 23 | 187 | 57 | 70 | 2.6 |
| Dudley Street 1865 | 27 | 330 | . . | 98 | 3.3 |
| „ „ 1868 | 25 | 235 | 71 | 104 | 2.2 |
| Church place 1865 | 22 | 366 | . . | 128 | 2.8 |
| „ „ 1868 | 17 | 220 | 76 | 104 | 2.1 |
These are the most densely populated Streets in the Parish of Paddington.