es of Women
Health Officials, for in May 1870 four "Female Visitors," afterwards
known as Assistant Sanitary Inspectors, were appointed in connection
with the Public Health Department. Their duties were: "by persuasion
principally, to induce the women householders to keep the interiors
of their dwellings in a clean and sanitary condition, and to advise
generally how best this can be maintained." They possessed the same
right of entry to premises as the men inspectors, and were required
to hold the certificate of the Incorporated Sanitary Association of
Scotland. They reported certain nuisances, but themselves dealt
with others, such as "dirty homes or dirty bedding, clothing, and
furnishing."

The work of Women Health Officials in England, dates from the passing
of the Factory and Workshops Act of 1891, when certain duties with
regard to workshops, which had previously been performed by the Home
Office Inspectors, were laid upon Sanitary Authorities.

In the opinion of Dr Orme Dudfield, late Medical Officer of Health
for Kensington: "It soon became apparent that, not only was systematic
inspection necessary, but also that many of the duties involved
were of so special and delicate a nature that they could not
be satisfactorily discharged by male inspectors." He therefore
recommended the appointment of two Women Inspectors of Workshops in
Kensington. In the meantime the city of Nottingham had appointed a
Woman Inspector of Workshops in May 1892, and in accordance with
Dr Dudfield's recommendation two Women Inspectors were appointed in
Kensington in 1893.

These ladies were appointed as inspectors of workshops _only_.
They did not hold Sanitary Certificates, nor had they the status of
Sanitary Inspectors. In practice, this entailed a visit by a male
inspector every time it was necessary to serve a legal notice for
the abatement of any contravention of the Factory and Workshops'
Act. Therefore, when these ladies resigned upon their appointment as
Factory Inspectors, it was decided to appoint the in-coming ladies as
Sanitary Inspectors, with power to deal with these matters themselves.
It was, however, Islington which appointed the first woman with the
legal status of Sanitary Inspector in 1895.

By 1901, eleven women had been appointed in the Metropolitan area as
Sanitary Inspectors, nearly all of them exclusively engaged in the
inspection of workshops. Since that time the number of women appointed
by Local Sanitary