Reports on the state of towns

• The moral and physical conditions of the working class of Manchester, 1832

  Cholera hit the city on 17th May 1832, and a board of health set up, with Dr James Kay as secretary, to co-ordinate the work of the city's 14 district boards.
• The moral and physical conditions of the working class of Manchester, 1832

  Kay personally visited the each area to investigate conditions there, and what he found formed the basis of his report.
• The moral and physical conditions of the working class of Manchester, 1832

  His report was one of the first detailed reports on the condition of a specific group of working people.
• The moral and physical conditions of the working class of Manchester, 1832

  He was one of the first people to demonstrate the connection between dirt and disease and, also demonstrating that dirt and diet affected the health of the working people.
• The moral and physical conditions of the working class of Manchester, 1832

  He also through in the moral condition of the poor. 'Dirty' living led to 'dirty' habits, and this proved to be a powerful motivational force for would-be reformers. This report set the scene for later investigations.
• Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain, 1842

  Started as a smaller piece of work, focused on London, requested by the poor law commissioners, and carried out under the direction of the commission's secretary, Edwin Chadwick.
• Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain, 1842

  1839 - Sir James Graham, asked the enquiry to be extended to cover the prevalence of disease among the labouring classes throughout the whole country.
• Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain, 1842

  The complete report was to be submitted by the beginning of the 1842 session of parliament.
• Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain, 1842

  Chadwick's report was in 3 volumes: 2 volumes of local reports all over Britain, based on questionnaires sent to all local boards of guardians and a 3rd volume containing his own conclusions and proposals for the way forward.
• Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain, 1842

  The Poor Law Commissioners refused to allow it to be published in its original form because it criticised the water companies, the medical profession and local administration. It also named names. In July 1842, Chadwick had the whole report under his own name at his own expense.
• Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain, 1842

  In his report he:

  • attacked the inadequacy of existing water supplies, drainage and sewerage systems
  • linked public health and the poor law
  • pointed a finger at vested interests, overcrowding, epidemics and death.
• Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain, 1842

  Chadwick demonstrated there was a connection between disease and the environment
• Reaction to Chadwick's report:

  Ranged from anger to acceptance, passing through disbelief and derision on the way.
• Reaction to Chadwick's report:

  Sir James Graham, was reluctant to act on the findings and conclusion of what was a purely private and personal report. He set up a Royal Commission on the Health of Towns with the purpose of investigating the legislative and financial side of his recommendations.
• Report of the Royal Commission into the sanitary condition of large towns and populous districts, 1844:

  Report was generated as a result of Chadwick's report. Members of the Royal Commission into the Health of Towns were drawn from those who could be expected to know something about the subject they were investigating.
• Report of the Royal Commission into the sanitary condition of large towns and populous districts, 1844:

  Led by Duke of Buccleuch, they included, a geologist, a chemist, an expert on land drainage who was also a cotton mill manager and at least 2 engineers.
• Report of the Royal Commission into the sanitary condition of large towns and populous districts, 1844:

  Questionnaires were sent to the 50 towns with the highest annual death rates, and the returns studied by the commissioners themselves who also made official visits to the worst areas.
• Report of the Royal Commission into the sanitary condition of large towns and populous districts, 1844:

  When the first report was published in 1844, it upheld Chadwick's findings. Of the 50 towns investigated, 42 were found to have bad drainage and 30 poor water supplies. The second report in 1845 contained proposals for future legislation, and included a long memorandum from Chadwick explaining the recommendations on sewerage, drainage and water supply.
• Report of the Royal Commission into the sanitary condition of large towns and populous districts, 1844:

  It recommended that:

  • central governments be given extensive powers to inspect and supervise local sanitary work
  • local sanitary districts be set up, with authority over drainage, sewerage, paving and water supplies
  • local sanitary districts be given powers to raise money for sanitary schemes through local rates.
• Report of the Bradford Woolcombers Sanatory Committee, 1845:

  Urban communities responded to pressures of increasing populations as a result of the Industrial Revolution by using up and adapting existing 'vacant' living space, and second, by building new dwellings.
• Report of the Bradford Woolcombers Sanatory Committee, 1845:

  Cellars and attics were filled with working people and their families, and were also used as workplaces. E.g. West Yorkshire town of Bradford, there were more than 10,000 woolcombers living and working in their own dwellings. Conditions were appalling; the average age of death of a woolcomber was 14 years, 2 months.
• Report of the Bradford Woolcombers Sanatory Committee, 1845:

  In 1845, the Bradford woolcombers formed a Protective Society and appointed their own 'sanatory committee' to report on the living conditions.