[Report 1856-1857].

  • Bermondsey (London, England). Parish. Vestry.
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1856-1857]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    flowing cesspools, badly paved or unpaved backyards, untrapped sinks connected with drains present a formidable category of sanitary evils. Under the order of the Vestry many cases have already been adjudicated upon, and are in the course of being remedied by decree of the Magistrate. I wish to draw special attention to No. 4, Fendall Street, where at this time a nuisance exists, while at Nos. 5 and 6 in the same street every thing that could be desired has been effected. Comfortable decent closets, slate water cisterns closely covered, yard well paved, &c. but the nuisance of No. 4, deprives the occupants of No. 5 and 6, of these advantages, by overflow from a cesspool of an old broken down privy. Wood's Place, in the Grange Road, has no receptacle for ashes, it requires paving and is in a dirty condition. System Place has five open offensive privies, which have been emptied but three times in fourteen years. There is one water-butt for the whole court. Queen's Gardens, Crosby Row, has nine open offensive privies, King's Place has thirty-one houses with open offensive privies, and in two instances the occupiers of four houses use one most offensive place. Union Place, and Surrey Place, Crosby Row are in the same condition. My attention was especially attracted to this spot by the knowledge that several cases of malignant fever (some fatal) have occurred lately in Crosby Row. In most of the houses in Nelson Street, Richardson Street, and in Alfred Place, the same nuisances exist. The admirable condition of the public streets, as regards paving and cleansing, has done much to improve the health of the district. But while on the part of the owners of this class of house property there exists such neglect of their duty, the parish is deprived of the full benefit of these improvements. From a return by your Inspector of Nuisances, (who is active and zealous) of the number, condition and situation of urinals, I find that there are 35 attached to public houses, and one by the Baths and Washhouses which may be looked upon as a model. Of the 35, two only are in a decent condition, the others require whitewashing, cleansing and draining. Many are in a most offensive and filthy state, some 5