Letters on the unhealthy condition of the lower class of dwellings : especially in large towns; founded on the First report of the Health of Towns Commission, with notices of other documents on the subject, and an appendix, containing plans and tables from the report (inserted by permission)
Girdlestone, Charles, 1797-1881 | Great Britain. Commissioners for Inquiring into the State of Large Towns and Populous Districts
Ik X <L% Patterns of these rods and builders' levels may be seen, or sets obtained for 30s. at ]\^r. Manning's, builder to the Royal Agricultural Society, 251. High Holborn. Being provided with a set of these rods, we will suppose a piece of ground of irregular surface to be drained. The first thing to be ascer- tained is, which is the highest and which is the lowest point at the extremities of the piece of land to be drained. On this piece there will be irregularities in the surface, either natural or from repeated ploughings, some portions of the surface being higher and some lower than the extreme points. At the highest point a, drive down one of the oak stakes a few inches into the ground. To that tie one of the boning rods, letting the bottom of the stick rest upon the surface of the ground, placing the cross piece at the top at a right angle with the line of direction to the lowest point C. Then proceed to do the same with, another boning stick at C. The workman will then proceed with his spade to a point as near as may be midway between 80 Mode of using Boning Sticks in draining Lund. the rods so fixed. The surveyor will take a sight from one boning rod to the other, and will, by a movement of the hand, direct the labourer until the two boning rods and the handle of his spade set upright are in a line. Having got them in a line, the labourer makes a mark by turning up a little of the soil with his spade. At that point he then places one of the boning rods, holding it at arm's length and standing on one side, so that his body may not interfere with the line of the sight which the surveyor then takes. If the spot on which this third boning rod is now held up happen to be an elevated one, ascertained by the surveyor taking a sight from the boning rod at A to the boning rod at C, and the elevation of the cross piece of the boning rod at b is judged to be about nine inches above the line, the labourer will be directed to lay down the boning rod, and with his spade dig a hole from a foot to 18 inches square, about two spades wide either way, and of the depth which he will judge to be of about 9 inches. Having cleared the bottom of the hole of the fragments of earth, he will again hold up the boning rod, resting it upon the bottom of the hole. The sur- veyor then takes a sight to see whether the cross pieces are exactly in a line. If they are not so, if the centre rod is too high, the labourer is directed to take out earth, if too low to put in earth and press it down, and this work of adjustment goes on until the three cross pieces are brought exactly in a line. The labourer then drives down one of the oak stakes, and ties the boning rod to it. Then the fourth stick is used between the middle one and either end one, and the labourer proceeds with his shovel to find out the middle between a and B, or C and B (as before). We will now suppose that there is a hollow of nine inches. He digs two holes, one at A, two feet, and one at C, three feet deep below the surface of the ground. He then lengthens out with another piece of deal each of his boning rods two feet. He then drives down into the bottom of the two holes the same stakes that were used in levelling the surface, and ties to the stakes as before, the boning rods so lengthened out to two feet. He will then proceed to dig out the drain, using the other boning sticks lengthened out to two feet, in like manner as the two already fixed ; taking care not to get below the run of the line of the bottom of the drain. When by repeated application of the movable boning rods the bottom of the drain has been made to agree throughout with the tops of the boning rods that are fixed, it then becomes the important duty of the surveyor, — going through the same process in respect to the bottom of the drain as was gone through in the first instance with the surface of the land, — to verify the work before a tile, or tube, or stone, or any other material is filled in. Being thus verified, the work is completed. Have you instructed common workmen to perform this pro- cess ? — I have. After the first job of a few poles is completed, an ordinary good labourer will go through the whole process as well as any surveyor. The determination of the position of the drains and the number of them will belong, of course, to a higher order of information ; or to the class now known as agricultural engineers. Ordinary good labourers will, when instructed, do the boning work without an error of a quarter of an inch upon thousands of yards in length. The pfocess of boning, as you have described it, may be stated as being a process for making a straight line in the earth from two given points, or, practically, for ensuring a straight bottom to any drain with any run. Where the outfall is not visible to the eye, as where it may be necessary to carry a drain round a hill, or through a winding street, then, of course, the use of the spirit level, or of the mason's level, will be requisite to find the outfall which cannot be seen, and when once these points are found, the boning sticks may be used as described ? — Certainly ; good workmen are easily taught the use of the ma- son's level, and if they were more extensively taught, the fre- quent failure of very expensive works of town drainage might be avoided. It is important for drainage that common workmen should be taught the simple use of a very common instrument, such as the mason's level, which cannot be put out of order, and expensive service, which too frequently prevents these im- provements being made, rendered unnecessary. G 82 The Nature and Use of Contour Lines. 15. The Nature and Use of Contour Lines, Butler Williams, Esq. C. E. Vol. II. 449. Will you explain the use of the contour lines of equal altitude ? — To illustrate the use of contour lines, let a road surveyor be requested to lay out a line of road from A to B (see annexed sketch), he could, by reference to contour lines drawn within sufficiently close limits, select such a direction as would give the most favourable gradients, without taking any trial levels, or even visiting the locality. He could, for ex- ample, obtain from the plan the section or varying gradients of a road in the direction represented on the sketch by the Plan. Section. straight line A B, and compare its length and its gradients with those of a line of road made to deviate in such improved directions as would be indicated by the contour lines, generally (as shown by the dotted line in the above sketch) increasing in a slight degree the total length of the road, but avoiding back- falls, and reducing the gradient to a minimum amount of steep- ness by spreading the total rise or fall almost evenly throughout the whole line of road. Economy of Materials in the Construction of Sewers. 83 -5 6 Contours *_ of Equal -J Dl Altitude. I JLA •' ^-L ' J_ '_ /, £j _ j_ " //-///■ /j t ISeetion of Bead as improved by reference tu Contours j Contours ■of Equal Altitude. Section of Straight or Unimproved Road. 16. Economy of Materials in the Construction of Sewers. Butler Williams, Esq. C. E. Vol. II. 461. The accompanying sketches are designed to show at a glance, and without reference to numbers, the economy of materials in brickwork alone that must be the consequence of adoj)tino- the egg-shaped in preference to the upright-sided sewer. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fie. 5. 84 Sir C. Wren's Plan for laying out the Streets of London. Figure 3. is the section of the "Westminster sewer, and figure 4. that of the Finsbury sewer, equally strong, and containing so much less material as to provide, in the difference, for the con- struction of a sewer somewhat larger than figure 5., which is one used successfully in the Finsbury district for streets or places of short lengths. 1 7. Ordinary Junction of Drains and Sewers, and improved Method. B. Williams, Esq. C.E. Vol. II. 467. Ordinary Junction of Drains and Sewers. Improved Method of Junction. B. Williams, Esq. C.E. Vol. H. 468. 18. Sir C. Wren's Plan for laying out the Streets of London. B. Williams, Esq. C.E. Vol. II. 481. Supposing a new district of a town to be laid out, the pro- prietors or projectors would learn much by consulting Sir Christopher Wren's plan. To secure ventilation the streets should be straight, and should radiate from a centre. They will then open directly on the surrounding country ; thereby the air will be most readily and continuously changed, and the pure atmosphere of the fields will rush di- rectly through the town, attenuating the noxious gases, and revivifying the used air. The proposed arrangement of diagonal lines affords the most direct access to various distant points, as is proved by the great radiating ' lines of road which have been opened on the south side of London. The Comparative Health of Workmen in large and small Rooms. 85 angles whence the streets diverge might be appropriated as sites of public buildings, and may be rendered thus highly- ornamental, while it is doubtful whether it would not be at all times preferable to leave the central space open, or occupied only by gardens, or a fountain, or pillar, than to allow its value as a free breathing place to be diminished by having it occupied by any public building. Public buildings might be made to appear to as great advantage at the sides, and by such an ar- rangement the central ground would be preserved for light, fresh air, and exercise ; or, for that which has been aptly called the " mere luxury of space." APPENDIX II. TABLES. 1. Condition of the Houses of the Poor. J. Toynbee, Esq., F.R.S. Vol. I. 67. In a statistical report made by Mr. Weld, on a house-to-house visitation made at the instance of Lord Sandon, to the Statistical Society in 1842, it is stated that there were in the parish of St. George's, Hanover Square, 1465 families of the labouring classes, who had for their residence only 2175 rooms and 2510 beds. The distribution of rooms and beds was as follows : — Dwellings. Number of Families. Beds. Number of Families. Single rooms for each family Two — — Three — — Four — — Five — — Six — — Seven — — Eight — — Not ascertained Total - 929 408 94 17 8 4 1 1 3 One bed to each family - Two — — - Three — — Four — — Five — - — Six — — Seven — — Dwellings without a bed Not ascertained - Total - 623 638 154 21 8 3 1 7 10 1,465 1,465 2. Health of Workmen employed in large and small Rooms compared. W. A. Guy, M.D. Vol. I. 96. As a still further confirmation of the injurious effects attri- buted to impure air, I beg to subjoin the following table, founded G 3 86 Comparative Mortality in Towns and Country. upon a careful inquiry into the condition of the men as to health, and an accurate measurement of the rooms in which they were at work : — m Per Centage Proportion. o s ° 02 a u o o H Spitting of Blood. Catarrh. Other Diseases. Total. 104 men having less 13 13 18 44 12-50 12-5 17-31 4231 than 500 cubic feet of air to breathe. 115 men having from 5 4 23 32 4-35 3-48 20-00 27-82 500 to 600 cubic feet of air to breathe. 101 men having more 4 2 18 24 3-96 1-98 17-82 23-76 than 600 cubic feet of air to breathe. 3. Comparative Mortality in Toivns and Country. Liverpool. Dr. Duncan. Vol. I. 122. In the Appendix to the Third Annual Report of the Registrar-General, a statement is given of the relative mor- tality of a town and country population, amounting, in each case, to upwards of three millions and a half, and combining the results of the observations of two years, 1838, 1839: — Table 1. — Area in Square Miles. Estimated Popu- lation, January 1, 1839. Deaths Regis- tered in Two Years. Inhabitants to One Square Mile. Annual Mortality. *Country Districts. Town Districts .. England and Wales 17,254 747 57,805 3,559,323 3,769,002 129,628 197,474 206 5,045 265 One in 54-91 38-16 46-00 Another evidence of the greater unhealthiness of towns is afforded by the comparative longevity of the inhabitants of the different districts, as shown by the following table, in which the proportion of deaths, out of every 1000, which occurred at the * The country districts included in this statement comprise the counties of Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Essex, Gloucester (except Bristol and Clifton), Hereford, Norfolk (except Norwich), Somersetshire, Suffolk, Sussex, Westmoreland, and AViltshire. The town districts include the Me- tropolis, Bath, Birmingham and Aston, Bristol and Clifton, Cambridge, Carlisle, Derby, Dudley, Exeter, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool and West Derby, Manchester and Salford, Maidstone, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nor- thampton, Nottingham, Sheffield, Stoke-upon-Trent, Sunderland, and Wolverhampton. Low Average Age at Death in Liverpool. 87 age of 70 and upwards, in Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Wiltshire, Cornwall, Somersetshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cumberland, West- moreland, Northumberland (except the mining part), and Lan- cashire (North of Morecambe Bay), is contrasted with the proportion occurring at the same ages in the metropolis, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, and Liverpool. Table 2. — Total Deaths, 1839-40. Deaths at 70 and upwards. Deaths  6,457 202 90 141 Vol. I. 123. The following table gives a view of the relative mortality of seven of the principal towns, calculated on the average of the three years 1838, 1839, 1840: — Table 3. Towns. Population, 1841. Deaths. Metropolis ' - Birmingham - Leeds - Sheffield .... 1,870,727 138,817 168,667 85,293 1 in 37-38 „ 36-79 „ 36-73 „ 3292 Bristol - Manchester (Union) - Liverpool (Paristi) 64,298 192,408 223,054 „ 32-38 „ 29-64* „ 28-75* Vol. I. 125. 4. Low average Age at Death in Liverpool. Liverpool. Dr. Duncan. Vol. I. 126. Table 5. Metropolis, i. e., Kensington, Strand, Whitechapel, and  years 21" „ 20 „ 19 -„ 17 „ * The rate of mortality in Liverpool and Manchester is deduced from the average of the five years, 1838 — 1842. 88 High Rate of Infant Mortality. 5. High Rate of Infant Mortality. Liverpool. Dr. Duncan. Vol. I. 141. I have already shown the high ratio of infantile mortality in towns generally, and pointed out the fact that Liverpool, in this respect, surpasses all our English towns ; 53 out of every 100 children born dying before the completion of their fifth year. — (See Table 4, p. 125.) The following table shows the proportionate number of deaths from consumption, and from convulsions, in Liverpool and in the four other largest towns in England, during the three years 1838, 1839, 1840 : — Table 9. Towns. Total Deaths (3 Years). Deaths by Con- sumption. Proportion of Deaths from Consumption to Deaths by Convulsions Proportion to Total Deaths. Population Annually. and Teething. "Total Deaths. Population Annually. Birmingham Metropolis - Leeds - - Manchester Liverpool - 10,765 164,420 13,165 19.969 22,532 1,910 22,027 2,316 3,256 4,043 PerCent. 17-74 13-39 17-59 16-30 17-94 One in 207 246 209 172 156 616 11,993 1,612 2,735 3,365 PerCent. 5-72 7-29 12-24 13-69 14-93 One in 645 453 301 205 188 In the column of convulsions I have included the deaths from teething (710 out of the 3365 in Liverpool), because "teething very generally causes death by convulsions ; and the disease in that case might be registered under either title ; and because the predisposing cause of death in both cases is the same, i. e., excessive irritability of the nervous system. The numbers in this column embrace children, or rather infants, almost ex- clusively, 822 out of 869 deaths in one year from convulsions alone, in the parish of Liverpool, having occurred within the first twelvemonth after birth. It will be observed that, in this division of the table, the different towns maintain their ac- customed positions ; the mortality gradually rising from 5f per cent, of the total deaths, and 1 in 645 of the population in Birmingham to 15 per cent, of the deaths, and 1 in 188 of the population in Liverpool. Among the 88,000 individuals breath- ing the purer air of the surrounding district of West Derby (including, however, Toxteth Park, Edge Hill, &c), the deaths from this cause are only 1 in 334. Average Age at Death among different Classes. 89 In the first division of the table (consumption) the usual order is somewhat departed from, Birmingham giving pre- cedence to London and Leeds, and ranking next to Manchester in point of absolute mortality from this disease, and next to Liverpool as regards relative mortality, i. e., the proportion of the total deaths caused by consumption. Liverpool occupies its usual position at the foot of the table. In London, the mor- tality from consumption is 13^ per cent, of the total mortality, and 1 in 246 of the population ; in Liverpool and West Derby it is nearly 18 per cent, of the deaths, and 1 in 156 of the population annually. The seeming anomaly with regard to Birmingham, so start- ling at first sight, may be explained, in a great measure, by the nature of the occupations in which so large a number of the working classes in that town are engaged. Of these, the pro- cess of " dry grinding," especially needle-pointing, may be mentioned as being particularly apt to induce consumption, from the inhalation of the metallic particles projected into the air. 6. Average Age at Death among different Classes. Liverpool, Dr. Duncan, Vol. I. 160. That the influence of these seats of pestilence is not confined to those who reside within their immediate limits, but extends itself to the whole town, poisoning the atmosphere which all classes are compelled to breathe, is shown by the fact that the excess of mortality, as compared with other towns, is found to affect the highest as well as the lowest classes of the community. This appears from the following table, compiled from Mr. Chadwick's Sanatory Report on England, (pp. 158-161.) : — Table 16. Towns. Average Age at Death. General Ave- Professional Tradesmen. Labourers, &c. rage. Persons. Kendal - 45 years 39 years 34 years 36 years Bath --.- 55 „ 37 „ 25 „ 31 „ Four Metropolitan Unions 44 „ 28 „ 22 „ 25 „ Leeds - - 44 „ 27 „ 19 „ 21 „ Bolton - 34 „ 23 „ 18 „ 19 „ Manchester - 38 „ 20 „ 17 „ 18 „ Liverpool - 35 „ 22 „ 15 „ 17 „ 90 Comparative Ages at Death of Three Classes at Preston. 7. Metropolis and Preston compared. Preston. Eev. J. Clay. Vol. I. 167. Classes. Average Age at Death, including Children. Metropolis. Preston. Gentlemen - - Tradesmen - Labourers - Years. 44 25 22 Years. 47 32 18 30i 32i 8. Comparative Ages at Death of Three Classes at Preston. Preston. Rev. J. Clay. Vol. I. 174. To show still further the great difference in the probabilities of life, as respects the three classes now treated of, the following table has been framed, showing the progressive decrease in the sum of vitality in the three classes of the inhabitants of Preston. The calculations founded on the ages at death for the six years endine; June 30. 1843 : — 1. Gentry. 2. Tradesmen. 3. Operatives. Born 100 100 100 Remaining at the end of 1st year - 90-8 79-6 68-2 , „ 2nd year - 87-6 73-5 57-5 , „ 5 th year - 82-4 61-8 44-6 , „ 10th year - 81-1 56-6 38-8 , „ 20th year - 76-3 51-6 31-5 , „ 30th year - 72-3 45-9 25-2 , „ 40th year - 63-4 37-5 20-4 , „ 50th year - 56- 28-1 15-6 , „ GOth year - 45-1 20-5 11-2 , „ 70th year - 25-4 13-3 6-1 , „ 80th year - 8- 4-5 21 , „ 90th year - 1-8 •8 •2 , „ 100th year - •03 Terminates in Terminates in Terminates in the 92d year. the 96th year. the 103rd year. Prevalence of Epidemics in the Warm Seasons. 91 9. Effect of Altitude and Density of Population. City of York. T. Laycock, M.D. Vol. I. 235. Table 8. CD •a 3 < S M CD 5 cd s 5" CO o a .2 3 8 oCcj P-i « CD CO <! c CD § c.S. s,> «> •So 0) o a ^ .- oj CD P5 CD o. ■" CO 3 ■a C £ a 35 c« 13 1" Inhabitants to One Death Annually so |g 13 CD E| "E. • o § - « s o 2v; Best drained and ven- \ tilated parishes - J Intermediate parishes Worst drained and ~| ventilated parishes J" 50 43 33 27 40 63 35-32 27-79 22-57 3-03 3-86 3-83 47-5054-32 36-5341-41 26-82 32-15 347-72 247-20 129-43 334-22 219-70 153-00 40-2 52-5 62-8 It will be seen that as the altitude diminishes, the proportion of the labouring class is greater, and the mean age less. The two extremes show a difference of 12| years in the mean age of each individual dying. 10. Prevalence of Epidemics in the Warm Seasons. City of York. T. Laycock, M.D. Vol. I. 262. The following table strikingly exhibits this connection between increased temperature and increased mortality : — Table 2. — Showing the Mortality in each Month of the Three Epidemics, 1550-1, 1604, and 1832. CD S 3 3 60 3 < CD a S cy Q. CD o O s CD > O | Si CD Q "a o H J3 X? 3 S.S a 3iJO Deaths in the Parish of St. " Martin cum Gregory, during the prevalence of the " sweat- ing sickness" (?) in 1550, 1551 Deaths during the " Plague " \ of 1604, in 17 parishes . . J Deaths from the " Cboleral Spasmodica" of 1832, in the J- whole city of York ... J 53 66 5 249 98 21 638 13 30 793 13 26 115 1 18 93 7 45 107 1,913 185 2 3 142 Further proof were scarcely wanting, as the history of all epidemics exhibits the same relations. The table is, however, a curious historical document, and is, I believe, unique. 92 Mortality in Drained and Undrained Districts. Indeed, our own modern experience of the cholera of the " plum season " recurs annually to convince us of this connection, and every year people attribute their attacks of " bowel complaint " to eating plums, or toasted cheese, or salmon, or to any cause except the true one, namely, the miasmata evolved from stagnant water, or impure drains, by the heat of summer. 11. Comparative Mortality in the Drained and Undrained Districts of the Town of Leicester. Leicester. Vol. I. 269. 1840 1841 1842 Streets. O. < o §■=£ to C CD OT3 oW.H £.2 o to SO c i> a. c o S c East District. Years. Culverted - - 23A t 24 1 261 _I_ 24f Partly culverted 17i x 21 J. 2H .1 20 Not culverted - 13k * 18 1 7 17^ 1 7 16| West District. Culverted - - Partly culverted Not culverted - 20 21 141 1 ■g" 1 1 30 23i 21" i H 1 7 29 22 17A 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 s 26£ 22 17| Streets culverted Partly culverted Not culverted - 251. r 21 4 17 [ The 3 years average 21, and rather more. R These years were taken becaus 1840 was remarkable for th of disease and the number throughout the towu. e the year i increase of death* THE END. London : Printed by A. Spottiswoode, New- Street- Square. ** M ^m& \ ISfe - - • • |f f] 4^ &• * j*& ■J ^T ^t -•* <L~n£jti 0% rvk^KKih j*sc -5fry . » ■••' ■%£.*•£- 1. 