In order to be able to compare the average density of the population in the various parts of London, I have made a calculation as to the number of persons and houses to the acre, as well as the number of inhabitants to each house. I have also computed the annual rate of increase of the population from 1841-51, in the several localities here mentioned, and append the result. It will be seen that, while what are popularly known as the suburbs have increased, both in houses and population, at a considerable rate, some of the more central parts of London, on the contrary, have decreased not only in the number of people, but in the number of dwellings as well. This has been the case in St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, St. James’s, Westminster, St. Giles’s, and the City of London.
TABLE SHOWING THE INCREASE OF THE POPULATION AND INHABITED HOUSES, AS WELL AS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE AND HOUSES TO EACH ACRE, AND THE NUMBER OF PERSONS TO EACH HOUSE IN THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE METROPOLIS IN 1841-51.
| Yearly Increase of Population per annum, from 1841-51. | Yearly Increase of Inhabited Houses, from 1841-51. | Number of People to the Acre, 1851. | Number of Inhabited Houses to the Acre, 1851. | Number of Persons to each House, 1851. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Districts. | |||||
| Kensington | 4,509·2 | 633·0 | 15·2 | 2·2 | 6·9 |
| Chelsea | 1,630·0 | 198·1 | 72·4 | 9·7 | 7·4 |
| St. George’s, Hanover-square | 655·0 | 11·6 | 67·1 | 8·0 | 8·3 |
| Westminster | 880·7 | 20·8 | 80·4 | 8·2 | 9·8 |
| St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields | decr. 57·5[12] | decr. 11·6[12] | 94·3 | 8·9 | 10·5 |
| St. James’s, Westminster | 103·1[12] | 13·0[12] | 220·7 | 20·9 | 10·5 |
| North Districts. | |||||
| Marylebone | 1,926·6 | 178·6 | 105·8 | 10·3 | 9·8 |
| Hampstead | 187·7 | 30·8 | 5·7 | ·8 | 6·9 |
| St. Pancras | 3,722·9 | 396·5 | 64·3 | 7·2 | 8·9 |
| Islington | 3,937·5 | 505·0 | 31·5 | 4·4 | 7·0 |
| Hackney | 1,609·6 | 719·2 | 14·7 | 2·3 | 5·9 |
| Central Districts. | |||||
| St. Giles’s | decr. 31·6[12] | decr. 18·1[12] | 216·2 | 19·1 | 11·3 |
| Strand | 77·9 | decr. 38·9[12] | 272·2 | 24·1 | 11·2 |
| Holborn | 203·9 | decr. 8·6[12] | 247·7 | 24·0 | 10·3 |
| Clerkenwell | 790·6 | 31·3 | 202·2 | 22·6 | 8·9 |
| St. Luke’s | 415·0 | 3·6 | 225·2 | 26·7 | 8·4 |
| East and West London | 433·0 | decr. 27·6[12] | 318·4 | 32·7 | 9·7 |
| London City | decr. 10·1[12] | decr. 59·2[12] | 151·0 | 19·8 | 7·6 |
| East Districts. | |||||
| Shoreditch | 2,564·5 | 279·1 | 176·1 | 24·8 | 7·0 |
| Bethnal-green | 1,596·4 | 158·8 | 118·6 | 17·5 | 6·7 |
| Whitechapel | 787·7 | decr. ·2[12] | 252·3 | 27·9 | 9·0 |
| St. George’s-in-the-East | 695·9 | 16·6 | 210·3 | 26·7 | 7·8 |
| Stepney | 1,983·8 | 198·2 | 43·9 | 6·4 | 6·7 |
| Poplar | 1,598·6 | 181·6 | 37·7 | 5·5 | 6·8 |
| South Districts. | |||||
| St. Saviour’s, St. Olave’s, and St. George’s, Southwark | 730·7 | 13·8 | 181·2 | 23·7 | 7·6 |
| Bermondsey | 1,312·6 | 142·1 | 77·6 | 11·2 | 6·7 |
| Newington | 1,011·2 | 109·8 | 102·8 | 16·6 | 6·1 |
| Lambeth | 2,316·8 | 272·9 | 38·2 | 5·6 | 6·7 |
| Wandsworth | 1,085·2 | 183·1 | 4·7 | ·7 | 6·1 |
| Camberwell | 1,473·7 | 257·4 | 12·4 | 2·0 | 5·8 |
| Rotherhithe | 383·8 | 41·4 | 25·7 | 4·1 | 6·2 |
| Greenwich | 1,827·9 | 242·8 | 21·7 | 3·1 | 6·8 |
| Lewisham | 1,178·0 | 197·0 | 2·1 | ·3 | 5·6 |
| Total for all London | 41,327·1 | 4,498·5 | 31·8 | 4·1 | 7·6 |
By the above table we perceive that St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, St. James’s, Westminster, St. Giles’s, the Strand, and the City have all decreased both in population and houses since 1841. The population has diminished most of all in St. James’s, and the houses the most in the City. The suburban districts, however, such as Chelsea, Marylebone, St. Pancras, Islington, Hackney, Shoreditch, Bethnal-green, Stepney, Poplar, Bermondsey, Newington, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Camberwell, Greenwich, and Lewisham, have all increased greatly within the last ten years, both in dwellings and people. The greatest increase of the population, as well as houses, has been in Kensington, where the yearly addition has been 4500 people, and 630 houses.
The more densely-populated districts are, St. James’s, Westminster, St. Giles’s, the Strand, Holborn, Clerkenwell, St. Luke, Whitechapel, and St. George’s-in-the-East, in all of which places there are upwards of 200 people to the acre, while in East and West London, in which the population is the most dense of all, the number of people exceeds 300 to the acre. The least densely populated districts are Hampstead, Wandsworth, and Lewisham, where the people are not more than six, and as few as two to the acre.
The districts in which there are the greatest number of houses to a given space, are St. James’s, Westminster, the Strand, Holborn, Clerkenwell, St. Luke’s, Shoreditch, and St. George’s-in-the-East, in all of which localities there are upwards of 20 dwellings to each acre of ground, while in East and West London, which is the most closely built over of all, the number of houses to each acre are as many as 32. Hampstead and Lewisham appear to be the most open districts; for there the houses are not more than eight and three to every ten acres of ground.
The localities in which the houses are the most crowded with inmates are the Strand and St. Giles’s, where there are more than eleven people to each house, and St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, and St. James’s, Westminster, and Holborn, where each house has on an average ten inmates, while in Lewisham and Wandsworth the houses are the least crowded, for there we find only five people to every house.
Now, comparing this return with that of the metropolitan police, we have the following results as to the extent and contents of the Metropolis Proper:—
| According to Registrar General. | According to Metropolitan Police. | |
|---|---|---|
| Area (in statute acres) | 74,070 | 58,880 |
| Parishes | 176 | 179 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 307,722 | 305,525 |
| Population | 2,361,640 | 2,111,629 |