[Report 1907] / Medical Officer of Health, Hastings County Borough.

  • Hastings (England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1907
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1907] / Medical Officer of Health, Hastings County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    3. The Parish of St. Helen’s, lying inland from Hastings, semi-rural in character, and having a population of about 6,570. Here are situated the Hastings Union Workhouse, and the Borough Isolation Hospital. 4. The Parish of Hollington St. John, inland from St. Leonards, semi-rural in character, and having a population estimated in 1907 at 2,057. The first three of these localities are in the Hastings Registration District ; while the Parish of Hollington St. John is in the Registration District of Battle. For purposes of Sanitary Administration the Borough is divided into four districts: Western, Central, Eastern, and Northern ; the last-named is the area added to the Borough at the extension in November, 1897. It is partly rural in character ; the other three divisions are entirely urban. Each of these districts is under the supervision of a Sanitary Inspector who exercises therein the powers conferred on such an official under the Public Health Act, the Factory Acts, the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, and other kindred enactments. The several districts are believed to be fairly equal as regards population, each having about 17,000 inhabitants. Physical Features and General Character of the District. The County Borough of Hastings lies on the southern slope of a range of hills, the highest point of which attains an elevation of nearly 600 feet. The crest or ridge of this hilly range forms the northern boundary of the borough, and is distant from l£ to 2\ miles from the shore, which is the southern boundary. Towards the east also are hills protecting the town on this quarter. Minor hills, with intervening valleys running mainly N. and S., intersect the area of the borough, which has an acreage of 4,857 acres. The geological formation consists of sandstone, sand, and ferruginous clay. Chalk is not found in the neighbourhood. The Chief Occupations of the Inhabitants. The district is largely residential. The letting of lodgings to visitors in search of health or pleasure forms the main industry of the place. There is no harbour; but at the east end of the Borough, which is the oldest part of the town, there is still a considerable fishing community. The industry has, however, of late years lost some of its former importance.