1.2.2 THE LONDON AREA
The Physician Commission was to license houses: "within the cities of
London and Westminster and within seven miles of the same, and within the
county of Middlesex" (1774 M. Act, s.2)
London, Westminster and a seven mile radius was, I believe, the area in
which the Royal College of Physicians already controlled physicians
practising, and inspected apothecaries' shops. It included the most densely
populated parts of Middlesex and most of its madhouses. The area in the
1774 Madhouse Act merely added the rural fringe.
In subsequent Acts the definition became longer and more precise, but it
defined essentially the same area. (1828 M Act, s.2; 1829 M Am Act, s.10;
1832 M Act, s.3; 1845 L
Act, s.14; 1890 L Act, s.208(1) and 3rd schedule; 1946 NHS Act, s.49(1) and
9th schedule).
No alterations were made in 1828, but in 1829 a list was added of the
"precise places" in Surrey, Kent and Essex that were included. The
"parishes and places" listed that were furthest from London were: Wimbledon
and Dulwich in Surrey, Lewisham and Woolwich in Kent, and East Ham in
Essex. As all are within seven miles of the boundary of London and
Westminster, no alteration was made to the area unless some parish
boundary/s went beyond the seven mile radius. From 1845 the seven miles was
drawn from London, Westminster and Southwark, so (probably unintentionally)
an area the size of Southwark was added to the rural border of the
commission's immediate jurisdiction. This minor addition was the most
substantial alteration made to the area at any time.