London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Chiswick 1910

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Chiswick]

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Table 4 also gives other details of house-to-house
inspections, and shews that practically fifty per cent.
of the houses so inspected are let in two or more tenements.
Particulars are given of the number of
nuisances and sanitary defects reported, and amongst
the most important matters dealt with were—44
defective drains, 23 choked drains, 164 insufficient
water supplies to water-closets, 33 defective soil-pipes
and ventilators, 155 defective and unpaved yards, 527
premises requiring repairing and cleansing, and 215
drinking-water cisterns improperly situated, etc.
Very little trouble was experienced in persuading
owners and occupiers to remedy the sanitary defects
reported, but in the case of a number of houses in
Devonshire Road, the Council gave instructions for
the paving of the yards and execution of certain
cleansing work at the owners' expense. The yards of
all the houses were previously in a very insanitary
state, but a portion of each has now been properly
paved and drained; and as regards the cleansing work,
the passages, staircases and certain rooms were disinfected
and cleansed in accordance with the certificates
of the Medical Officer of Health. Whilst the work
was in progress, it was found that the walls in many
instances were covered with several papers and infested
with vermin.
I referred in my last Annual Report, to two roads
at Strand-on-the-Green, which were requiring special
attention. During the past year, in consequence of
complaints, I was compelled to make a house-to-house
31