[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Sutton UDC 1905].

  • Sutton (London, England). Urban District Council.
Date:
[1906]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Sutton UDC 1905]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    SUTTON URBAN DISTRICT. Area, 1,836 Statute Acres. Number of Inhabited Houses at Census 1881, 1,537; at Census 1891, 2,200; at Census, 1901, 2,976. Population (exclusive of South Metropolitan District Schools) at Census 1881, 8,700; at Census 1891, 12,000; at Census 1901, 15,486. MEDICAL OFFICER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1905. Gentlemen, I have the pleasure to present my report for the year 1905. Although the records in Sutton are usually comparatively good, this year is remarkable by reason of its low infantile mortality, of mortality from zymotic diseases and for the lowest general death-rate yet recorded, viz.: 8'9. If in a community uninfluenced by immigration and emigration this rate of mortality were maintained it would infer that if 1,000 children were born in a given year, after 80 years 288 would still be living, after 100 years 110, whilst the remainder would not become extinct until 113 years had passed. This is of course improbable under existing conditions. In a residential district like Sutton there is a large number of immigrants such as household servants, shop assistants, etc., who, whilst materially augmenting the numerical value of the population, have but little effect on the rate of mortality, being persons at the middle ages of life, when death is not so frequent, and in most cases also leaving the district for their respective homes when serious illness does overtake them. Taking, however, all these factors into consideration, the death-rate of the district would be much below the average for the country generally, and compare very favourably with that of many reputed health resorts. I.—Physical Features. Sutton in its main direction lies almost due north and south, the High Street continuous on the north with the London lload and on the south with the Brighton Road, intersecting the district in this direction, which is about 2| miles long between the boundaries. From east to west the town is divided by the Carshalton Road and Cheam Poad, and at this point is about a mile in width. The whole district has an area of 1,836 acres. The southern portion of Sutton is beautifully situated, sloping up to the noted breezy Banstead Downs, attaining a height of about 300 feet above sea level, and having a subsoil of Chalk. The northern portion also rises from the lower part of the town about Sutton Green (117 feet from sea level) to Sutton Common and Benhilton, both of which are prettily situated and favourite residential districts. This part of the town is mainly situated on the London clay, but dividing this from the chalk, which may be roughly said to extend to a line drawn east to west, about the level of West Street, are two narrow strips of Tlianet sand and plastic clay (Woolwich and Reading beds) an outcrop of the lower London tertiaries. The natural or surface water drainage is mainly to the Pyl Brook, a small tributary of the Beverley Brook, and to a small extent on the east side into a brook running into the Wandle. On the north side Sutton is bounded by Carshalton and Morden, on the south by the parish of Banstead, on the east by Carshalton, and on the west by Cheam and Morden. II.—Vital Statistics: Births and Deaths. 1. Population.—The natural increase of population or the excess ol births over deaths during the year 1905 was 257. This, together with the greater number