[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham].

  • Lewisham (London, England). Board of Works.
Date:
1860
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: City of London, London Metropolitan Archives

    22/31 (page 19)
    19 METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. Week ending. Weight of air. Barometer corrected. Mean inches. Temperature of Air. Thermometer. Prevailing winds. Rainy days. Amount of rain in inches. Highest. Lowest. Mean of daily readings. Oct. 1 29.724 70.6 49.1 58°7 S.W. 6 1.69 8 29.836 81.0 52.5 62.1 S.E. 2 0.30 15 29.492 66.0 47.7 55.3 E. 5 0.88 22 29.490 64.5 28.0 48.3 S.W. 5 0.53 NOVEMBER. DISTRICTS. BIRTHS. DEATHS. Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total. Blackheath 3 5 8 1 - 1 Lewisham 6 7 13 4 2 6 Union Workhouse — — — 3 6 9 Sydenham 11 13 24 6 5 11 Penge 3 5 8 1 3 4 Total 23 30 53 15 16 31 Gentlemen, Notwithstanding the rapid changes of temperature and weight of air (as shown in the accompanying tables), I am happy to be able to report upon this as not being an unhealthy month. Thirty.one deaths have occurred, which is under the average number for the last four years. Although the cold has been for some days below freezing, the temperature has not remained in a depressed state sufficiently long to have produced its usual fatal effects upon the aged. In the the Blackheath Ward only one death is registered during the month. Scarlatina has been very prevalent during the month; two cases of smallpox have also occurred, but no death has taken place from this latter disease. A family of the name of Lester, Hanover Street, Sydenham, have all been suffering from fever; the offensive smell arising in this house has been complained of several times. The deaths occurring from epidemic disease are as under :— Lewisham— 2nd Nov., Typhus fever, Union Workhouse. 10th Nov., Hooping cough, Lady Well. 17th Nov., Diarrhoea, Stratford Place. Sydenham— 21st Oct., Scarlet fever, Greyhound Inn. 20th Oct., Bilious fever, Upper Sydenham 23rd Oct., Scarlet fever, Bath Place. 23rd Oct., Scarlet fever, Willow Road. 26th Oct., Scarlet fever, Willow Road. 29th Oct., Scarlet fever, Willow Road. The state of the drainage in Willow Road, in my opinion, is very unsatisfactory; although a main sewer is in the road few houses use it. It has been my duty repeatedly to call your attention to diseases in this locality evidently taking their origin from some local miasm; and, in this month's report, again three deaths from scarlet fever are recorded.