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To the Chairman and, Members of
The Wanstead Urban District Council.
Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit to you my Annual Report for the year
1914, to which is appended a Report of the Sanitary Inspector, Mr. H. C.
Howard, which deals with the matters appertaining to his Department.
Much has happened since the writing of my last Report, but it is
indeed gratifying to note that, in spite of the exceptional conditions of
the past seven months, a very healthy tone exists in this locality.
Many Refugees are now in our midst, and although some were landed
from a steamer where a case of small-pox existed, happily none contracted
the disease. They were under my supervision for the quarantine
period of about a fortnight.
For the convenience of the Local Government Board, and those not
acquainted with the district I again repeat the following description of
the physical features and general characteristics.
The Urban District of Wanstead is situated within the N.E. section
of the London area, and is bounded on the N. by Woodford, on the B. by
Ilford, on the S. by East Ham, and on the W. by Leyton. Snaresbrook
is but a subdivision of Wanstead Parish, and is situated on the W. side
of the Railway Arch, towards the Infant Orphan Asylum.
The District can be best described as a parallelogram of 1,679 acres,
extending 2| miles North and South along the West side of the River
Roding, and having an average width of little over a mile. It has a
general slope from N.W. to S.E., the highest point (170 feet above
Ordnance datum) being the extreme N.W. corner of the district, and the
lowest point (20 feet above Ordnance datum) at the extreme S.E. corner
of the district, on the flood lands attached to the Council's Sewage Farm.
The subsoil is mainly gravel, intersected with layers of clay, whilst
the higher levels of the district are of clay formation.