[Report 1859-1860].

  • Bermondsey (London, England). Parish. Vestry.
Date:
1860
Catalogue details

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

Credit: [Report 1859-1860]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    quate. It produced a very marked and decided effect upon your Inspector of Nuisances, and I felt its influence for some hours afterwards. We inspected the adjoining premises of Messrs. Nickerson, which were in a far superior condition, evincing evidence of care and also the entire absence of offensive effluvia. The health of our Pariah continues good. The deaths for the week ending October 1st. were 20, the average being 34 ; and for the week ending October 8th. 16, the average being 25. I have for some time thought it my duty not to confine myself simply to a report of the sanitary condition of our district, but to compare our position as regards health and life with Metropolitan districts. I believe that this course has been attended with good results, removed popular and ill-founded opinions with regard to Bermondsey, I this evening take a summary view of the thirteen weeks, ending October 1st, not only as regards ourselves, but also our neighbouring districts, and briefly of other portions of the Metropolis. It has been a critical period; there were on several occasions very threatening, even alarming symptoms of the advent of a severe and fatal Epidemic, which providentially appears now to have passed away. I think it important only to take for our consideration the diseases named Zymotic, and justly considered to be preventible to a great degree.—These are Small Pox, Measles, Scarlatina, Whooping Cough, Diarrœa, and Typhus. We must take as a standard the last census, which will tell somewhat against us, for the central and some other districts cannot have increased in population in the same ratio as Bermondsey. During the thirteen weeks the deaths from Small Pox in the Metropolis were 287, which represents one death for every 8234 persons. The entire Metropolis has been visited more or less with this virulent disease. The Eastern district suffered most, then the Central, then the Southern, next the Northern, and least of all the Western. In the Southern district the deaths were 1 in 8173, then 73 cases registered—3 in Christchurch and St. Saviour's, 3 St. Olave's and St. John's, 25 St. George's, Southwark, 15 in Newington, 10 in Lambeth, 4 at Clapham, 6 at Deptford and Greenwich, 6 at Lewisham and Plumstead, and in Bermondsey 1, Camberwell is in the same position with 1 death only registered, and Rotherhithe which in sanitary improvements is running a fair race with ourselves, had no death whatever from Small Pox.