Perhaps one of the reasons people moved to Scapegoat Hill in the nineteenth century was for their health and welfare. Here, you would work for yourself or for a trusted employer but in your own home. You were free from the dangers of the factory and could set your own hours - not to mention the benefits of purer air.

Nevertheless, there were risks. In 1873 the local Medical Officer of Health noted a high incidence of 'zymotic' disease at Scapegoat Hill. (Zymotic disease was a term which encompassed typhoid, smallpox and scarlet fever, all diseases with a high probability of death at the time.) Typhoid again struck in 1877.

Mains water did not arrive in the village until 1914 and watercourses were not enclosed until 1877.

As might be expected in a fairly isolated community, there is much evidence of mutual support. Fund-raising centred on the baptist church and was particularly effective when supporting the church itself. Figures show that the Sunday School was one of the highest fund-raisers in the area on a per capita basis

There is no evidence that the community has ever had a resident doctor but a trades directory for 1922 records a dentist living here.