Dr. H. F. Parson's report on the general sanitary condition of the Bedlingshire urban district, and on the recent prevalence of scarlet fever in the district.

  • Parsons, H. F.
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. H. F. Parson's report on the general sanitary condition of the Bedlingshire urban district, and on the recent prevalence of scarlet fever in the district. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    houses privies shall be provided at the rate of at least one privy for every two houses, and that the privy shall be at least 15 feet from any dwelling-house. There is no public provision for the removal of nightsoil and ashes. In the colliery rows this is done at the expense of the proprietors, in other cases the occupants have to get it done at their own expense. At Cambois, which is on the coast, a line of rails is laid alongside each row of ashpits and coal sheds, and a train of trucks drawn by an engine plies up and down to deliver coals and remove refuse; the latter is simply disposed of by being tipped into the sea. In the remainder of the district the scavenging is done by the farmers, who use the matter removed as manure. This arrangement can hardly be expected to work well, for at the time of year when the frequent removal of refuse is most necessary, on account of the rapidity with which decomposition proceeds in hot weather, and of the tendency to diarrhoeal diseases which then prevails, the farmers’ horses and men are busy with the harvest. As a matter of fact, the scavenging was most unsatisfactorily performed ; ashpits overfull, and piled up with refuse, which lay also scattered around upon the yard, were so frequent as to be almost the rule in the district, and the Medical Officer of Health in his reports makes frequent complaint of the same state of affairs. The keeping of the ashpits properly scavenged is rendered more difficult by the circumstance that coal is supplied gratuitously to the pitmen by the colliery proprietors. Hence there is no inducement to be economical in the use of fuel; the cinders are not sifted out, and a large quantity of ashes is produced, which speedily fills up the ashpits. House slops containing solid matter are commonly thrown into the ashpits. The waterclosets substituted by requirement of the Sanitary Authority for midden privies in places where the latter proved a nuisance by reason of their proximity to dwelling-houses, consist of a plain hopper and syphon trap, and are flushed by a small service cistern. They are in all cases out of doors. They appeared to act well, but the sewers of the district are not adapted to a general adoption of the water carriage system. Water Supply.—The district is provided with a public supply of water, which is carried to every part with the exception of a few isolated houses. The water is taken from the river Blytli, filtered through a bed of sand and gravel, and pumped into an open reservoir at the highest part of Bedlington. The river Blyth above the point at which the water is ordinarily taken has received the sewage of a few houses at Stannington and Hartford Hall, and probably elsewhere. The pumping station and filter beds are situated at Humford Mill, about a mile south of Bedlington, but the water is usually taken from above a weir at Acorn Bank, a mile higher up. At the time of this inspec- tion however the conduit, owing to the effects of a landslip, was under repair, and the water was in consequence being pumped from the river at a point close to the waterworks. Between the weir and this point the river has been joined by a brook, which receives the drainage of a few houses in the township of Bebside. The reservoir at Bedlington is sufficiently high to supply all parts of the district by gravitation, except the hamlet of Netherton, two miles to the west, which is supplied from a wooden tank, to which the water is forced by the aid of a tall standpipe. At the time of my inspec- tion the physical characters of the water were satisfactory. The appended analysis by Mr. Pattinson, Borough Analyst of Newcastle, shows its character as regards mineral constituents. The water is carried by iron pipes to all parts of the district, and is supplied to the inhabitants by means of cast-iron water posts or “ pants.” These water posts are provided at the rate of about one for every 30 houses. Some of the houses are as much as 100 yards from the posts which supply them with water. The water is supplied by a constant service. The amount supplied is stated by the Surveyor to be 345,600 gallons per week ; if so, the average daily consumption of water is only 3^ gallons per head, a very small quantity, even though supplemented to some extent by rain water for washing purposes. The inhabitants are free to use as much water as they please, and no special charge is made for it, the cost being paid out of the general district rate. The water was first supplied in 1876 ; before that date the inhabitants had to use what water they could get from wells and rainwater tubs. Choppington was supplied with water pumped from the North Choppington Colliery. The water was pumped into tanks at the colliery and distributed by pipes. At present there is a tap at Scotland Gate which is supplied with filtered water from Choppington Colliery. Colliery water is not a satisfactory source of supply, being liable to be contaminated with salts of iron, derived from the oxidation of pyrites in the coal shale, and with the excretions of men and horses employed in the pit. There is an open dipping well at the bottom of Glebe Row which is liable to contamination.