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The density or number of persons per acre numbered 60 for the
County, the worst being Southwark 163, Shoreditch 158, Bethnal
Green 154, whilst in the South.West and South.East the density fell
to.Wandsworth 36, Greenwich 26, Lewisham 25, Woolwich 17.
Deptford's density was 12.
The worst wards in the whole County were—St. George.in.the.
East (North Ward of Stepney) with 258 per acre, St. John's Ward,
.outhwark 249 and 233 in the Golborne Ward of Kensington. Certain
wards in Finsbury, St. Marylebone, Shoreditch and Stepney exhibit
densities of over 200
While the acreage density affects certain medical and social
questions such as the control of infectious disease, provision of transport
and distribution of food supplies, it does not necessarily supply any
index to overcrowding from the housing point of view. This latter
depends entirely upon the sufficiency or otherwise of housing accommodation,
especially as demonstrated by the average rooms per person.
While overcrowding can and does occur in areas with a dense population,
it is possible to find the association of high density with a
relatively good housing position, and of the converse association of
overcrowding with low population density.
With few exceptions, Poor Law and Registration areas are identical.
Concerning Parliamentary constituencies, there are 61 in the County,
returning 62 members. The average population and electorate
respectively are 72,331 and 33,935. The City of London returns two
members though the census population is only 13,709 or 6,855 per
member ; whereas, in Holborn the population is 43,192 per member.
The population exceeds 100,000 in fiveconstituencies, namely, Deptford,
Greenwich, Islington (North), St. Marylebone and Shoreditch. For
the County of London the electorate forms 93.4 per cent. of the male
population and 79.9 per cent. of the female population in the age
classes above 21 for males and above 30 for females. Most of the
women on the Parliamentary Register are married women who derive
their right to the franchise because of their husband's occupation of
premises.
Buildings, Dwellings, Rooms and Families. A new term has been
introduced as the housing unit serving as the basis of the returns.
This is called a " structurally separate dwelling " and it means any
room or set of rooms having separate access either to a street or to a
common landing or staircase accessible to visitors. Each flat in a
block of flats is a separate unit. A private house which has not been
structurally divided is a single unit, whether occupied by one family or