View report page

12 Social Conditions.
There is an abundance of vegetation in the neighbourhood;
large tracts of common lands, Barnes Common, Palewell Common,
Sheen Common, and Richmond Park, and the smaller but equally
important areas, Barnes Green, Mortlake Green, the several Club
grounds, Reservoirs, Pond, and Waterways form "lungs," the
importance of which on the physical well-being of the community
cannot be over-estimated.
SOCIAL CONDITIONS.
The census returns of occupations are not yet available for
statistical purposes, but it will probably bear out the general statement
that the majority of the inhabitants of this district are
employed in the metropolis, following pursuits of a more or less
sedentary nature. A certain proportion of the inhabitants are railway
and Mortlake Brewery employees.
There is no doubt that a greater proportion of the residents
are between the ages of 25 and 45; the population at these ages is
of recent growth, coincident with the growth of the district.
POOR LAW RELIEF.
The amount expended for the out-door relief in Barnes and
Mortlake during the year ended the 30th September last was
£745 8s. 5d., the number of paupers in receipt of relief in the
district on the 1st January, 1912, was in-door 150, out-door 163.
POOR LAW MEDICAL RELIEF.
The following is a summary of the fortnightly returns supplied
by the Board of Guardians of the Richmond Union from the District
Medical Officer's Relief Book. The total number of new cases of
sickness seen by the District Medical Officers during the year was
417. Of these, 116 and 301 are the proportions respectively in
Barnes and Mortlake.