General report upon the sanitary condition of the parish of St. Luke, Chelsea, during the year 1856 / by A.W. Barclay.

  • Saint Luke (Chelsea, London, England : Parish)
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: General report upon the sanitary condition of the parish of St. Luke, Chelsea, during the year 1856 / by A.W. Barclay. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    12/34 (page 8)
    high, and the general death rate unfavorable. But, on referenee to the Tables it will be seen that the prevalence of epidemic diseases is the cause to which this circumstance is owing; and the Books of the Parish Surgeon equally prove that the proportion of cases of sickness of this class coming under his care, was greater than in other parts of the parish. This fact, of itself sufficiently remarkable, becomes much more so on further analysis ; for Kcnsal actually appears to be by far the healthiest district when these diseases are excluded, and docs not even indicate so much a general liability to the whole class, as to the existence of Diarrhoea in par- ticular : this circumstance will be more fully explained when the Returns are compared. Of all the diseases of the Zymotic class, Diarrhoea is the one most evidently associated with inefficient drainage, with foecal fermentation, and the impregnation of the atmosphere with unwholesome emanations from foul drains, open ditches, and cesspools. These are exactly the conditions which prevail in this locality :—the house drainage was found in even a worse state than any of the poor and neglected courts in Chelsea itself; the surface drainage of the lanes and alleys very imperfect; while its clay soil of necessity prevents the absorption of foul sur- face water, which in Summer is evaporated by the heat of the sun; and here, too, exists a foul open ditch, which until recently received a great portion of the sewage of the East end of the district, and must even now be a constant source of atmospheric contamination. It was not until late in the season that complaints reached me of the state of the drainage, and having had other urgent matters to attend to, the hot weather had already passed away, and diarrhoea had everywhere abated before the inspection was commenced, and we must wait for the result of another year before it can be ascertained what good has been effected. The whole number of houses visited was 484, containing a population of 2,296 persons; the sanitary improvements reported as effected up to the close of last year were 128, but many have been since carried out, and several are now in hand. Let me add, that you will not have done justice to this part of your parish, until the open ditch is filled up. In completing my summary of sanitary works, I may state generally that nearly 4,000 houses have been inspected, 3,600 having been included in the regular house to house visitation, which was undertaken under my direction, by the Inspector of Nuisances, and the remainder specially visited on account of com- plaints or suspected nuisances: 1191 improvements have been reported on as finished, a number remain in which the wishes of the Vestry have not been carried into full effect, and a very few in which nothing at all has been done, although second and peremp- tory Notices have been issued; with these it remains for you to deal as you shall see fit.