[Report 1920] / Medical Officer of Health, Watford U.D.C.
- Watford (England). Urban District Council.
- Date:
- 1920
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1920] / Medical Officer of Health, Watford U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![Report on the Sanitary Condition OF THE Urban District of Watford. lo the Chairman and Members of the Watford Urban District Council. Gentlemen, I have pleasure in presenting my Annua] Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Watford Urban District for the year 1920. NATURAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE DISTRICT. The population at Census, 1911, amounted to 41,200. The population as estimated by the Registrar General for the year 1920 is 48,027. This, I think, will be found to be an under-estimate when the figures of the coming census are published. Watford is situated on the outcrop of chalk that runs S.W. to N.E. across the South-eastern half of the country, but in that part of the area occupied by Watford the chalk does not come to the surface, but is overlaid by thick deposits of gravel that ensure a dry site for most of the houses, with the exception of the few built on the lower levels, near the rivers running through the district. There are two of the latter—the Colne, which joins the Thames near Colnbrook, and the Gade, which is a small stream rising in the chalk hills near Hemel Hempstead. The latter when it gets to Watford becomes the western boundary of the district for some considerable distance. The greater part of Watford is situated on high ground which gradually slopes towards the rivers named, the larger part of the populated portion being well above the level of the river beds. It will be seen, therefore, that the natural conditions of the district are very favourable for residential purposes. The sites for houses are healthy, the chalk beneath the gravel gives an in¬ exhaustible supply of pure water, the air is but little contaminated by smoke from factories, and there are four open spaces used as recreation grounds, the largest consisting of a considerable portion of Cassiobury Park, purchased when the opportunity arose some ten years ago and largely used by the inhabitants during the summer months.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30239977_0003.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
