[Report 1908] / Medical Officer of Health, Wellington (Somerset) U.D.C.

  • Wellington (Somerset, England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

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

Credit: [Report 1908] / Medical Officer of Health, Wellington (Somerset) U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Annual Report for 1908, By DR. J. MEREDITH. Medical Officer of Health. To the Chairman of the Council of the Welling¬ ton (Somerset) Urban Sanitary District. 4-t'h February, 1909. Sir, I have the honour to submit my Annual Report respecting the sanitary condition and the health of the inhabitants of the Urban Sanitary District of Wellington, Somerset, for the year 1908. Population.—The population, according to the 1891 Census—6,808 ; 1901 Census—7,283 •; estimated to end of June, 1908—7,649. A qualifying note should be entered here, to the effect that on an average, judging from census returns, about 25 persons leave the district each year, who never return to reside. T do not think it expedient to take this into calculation in preparing each year’s annual return - preferring rather to leave it to the Census enumeration for correction. Geology.—The Topographical and Geological characters of the district have been fully given in former reports. Occupation.—There has been no material change in the general industry of the district, or its employments. There has been no poverty calling for special notice. Vagrants.—The number of vagrants who availed themselves of the Union Casual ward, was 1.621 : being 1,523 males, 134 females, and 64 children, nine more than in 1907. The total was much less than it used to be a few years ago, due, probably, to the tramps being compelled to do more work than they used to do. Nevertheless, a great number of these people, who, practic¬ ally, are best described as unemployable, pass through the district every year ; many of them shelter at the Poole Kilns, and other places. They have not been the means of importing any infectious illness into the town or district. Rainfall.—The rainfall of the year has been over 5 inches below average, it amounted only to 25-26 inches. On the 19th of October over 2 inches fell in a short space of time. Maxi¬ mum temperature in screen, 85 degrees occurred on the 4th of July, and the minimum 19 degrees on the 11th of January.