[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich Borough.

  • Greenwich (London, England). Metropolitan Borough.
Date:
[1961?]
Catalogue details

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

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    14 Of the nursery schools, that of Rachel McMillan is inter nationally famous for the McMillan sisters were the pioneers of nursery schools in the British Isles; and in the Roan Schools, founded in 1643 by John Roan the son of a member of the Royal household when it was at the Palace of Placentia, Greenwich has one of the oldest teaching foundations in London. Most educational services are now under the control of the L.C.C. but there are still some private schools in the area which are conducted independently of the County Council and which cater for fee-paying pupils. There are four excellent public libraries, each incorporating reading rooms for free access to daily newspapers, weekly and monthly periodicals, which offer a service of Braille and talking books for the blind and, recently, opportunities for the borrowing of gramophone records have been made available to residents over the age of 18 years. In particular, the Central Library is admirably adapted to enable private study to be undertaken in proximity to a comprehensive reference section. Social centres providing for all shades of cultural and educa tional tastes have been established at Charlton House, Kidbrooke House, the Town Hall and West Greenwich House under the auspices of the Greenwich Community Council in conjunction with the L.C.C. and, in this connection, it can be stated that there are upwards of 65 clubs and societies affiliated to this Community Council. Besides Associations for rowing and barge sailing, the local sports clubs include the famous Blackheath Football Club (the oldest of all rugby football clubs) and the newer professional Charlton Athletic Football Club. Fourteen Old People's Clubs, each of which receives an annual grant from the Council, cater for the elderly residents of the Borough and in five instances accommodation for these clubs is made available by the Council free of charge. The lot of the aged, especially the home-bound is further ameliorated by an effective Meals-on-Wheels service. Greenwich can boast of modern public baths. On these prem ises are to be found first and second class slipper and swimming baths together with newly completed Turkish and Vapour Baths as well as a public laundry. In winter the baths hall is used for recreational purposes such as badminton, table tennis and roller skating, etc.