Dr. Gresswell's report to the Local Government Board on the sanitary state of the Aylesbury urban sanitary district, and on diphtheria there / [D. Astley Gresswell].

  • Gresswell, D. Astley (Dan Astley)
Date:
[1886]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. Gresswell's report to the Local Government Board on the sanitary state of the Aylesbury urban sanitary district, and on diphtheria there / [D. Astley Gresswell]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    WELLCOME LIBRARY cneral Collections Dr. Gresswell’s Report to the Local Government Board Dn the Sanitary State of the Aylesbury Urban Sani¬ tary District; and on Diphtheria there. +P 258 George Buchanan, Medical Department, July 15, 1886. * f. v v- ,r • -. — ■ **- The Urban Sanitary District of Aylesbury is coterminous with the parish of the same name; it covers an area of 3,200 acres, and has a population estimated, to the middle of 1885, at 8,087. Most of these persons reside in the town of Aylesbury, which, built on the summit and slopes of an eminence, overlooks in all directions the rich grazing land of Aylesbury Yale. The trend of this Yale is westward; to the north rise the Whitchurch, Pitchcot, Quainton, and Waddesdon Hills; to the south rise the Chiltern Hills ; east¬ ward is Hertfordshire, and westward is Oxfordshire. Several rivulets (some north and some south of Aylesbury) drain the Yale ; flowing westward they unite towards Ethrope (two miles to the west of Aylesbury) to form the river Thame. The summit of the eminence upon which the central parts of the town stand is some 300 feet above sea level. It consists of Portland stone and sand, while the slopes of this eminence and the lands extending north, west, and east of the town are formed of Kimmeridge clay, overlaid by a rich dark mould. South-eastwards there appear in succession outcrops of Portland stone, Gault, Upper greensand, and Chalk; the latter rising to a considerable height as the Chiltern Hills. Yarious factories in and near the town afford occupation to a large number of hands; but pillow-lace making has now almost disappeared from the town and surrounding district. The Yale is given up in chief part to pasturage. The town of Aylesbury is in its older and central parts closely and irregu¬ larly built. Many of the public streets are very narrow, and they are badly kept. Private streets, which are numerous, are commonly not levelled or drained, and in wet weather (as at date of inspection) they are covered with clay mud to a depth in some instances of half a foot. The Local Board have, however, taken action in reference to some of these streets under section 150 of the Public Health Act, 1875, and they propose to deal in like fashion with the rest of them. Houses without any curtilage what¬ ever, and others extremely limited in this matter, are met with in great numbers. Ground surfaces around dwellings are generally not sloped to allow of ready surface drainage. Old cottage dwellings are very dilapidated, and not a few of them are wholly unfit for habitation. Ashbins are all but non¬ existent, and large quantities of festering house refuse are commonly found in the proximity of dwellings. Scavenging is undertaken by the Local Board, but is not efficiently carried out; indeed, the limited, curtilage appertaining to many houses is thickly covered in some parts of the town (e.g., Silver Lane and Spring Gardens) with refuse which must have been accumulating for very many months. Buckingham Arms Yard and Bull’s Head Alley too, with other places, are in a most filthy condition. Indoor sinks dis¬ charging directly into house drains or over bell-traps in the floors of kitchens are frequently met with. Some houses are unprovided with means for disposal of slops. Excrement disposal is mainly by water-closets, 1,200 of the 1,650 houses of the district being, it is said, provided with them ; but in many instances one closet serves for three or four houses. A large number of the water-closets are indoor closets, and these, like the rest, are, generally speaking, inadequately ventilated. In by far the majority of cases closets have not had water laid on to them, so that flushing of them must be done by hand. As a result closet pans are commonly in a foul state, o 22240. 200.-7/86. Wt. 3115. E. & S. A