Dr. Blaxall's report to the local government board on the sanitary condition of Plymouth.

  • Blaxall, F. H.
Date:
1879
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. Blaxall's report to the local government board on the sanitary condition of Plymouth. 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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    Dr. Blaxall’s Report to the Local Government Board on the Sanitary Condition of Plymouth. George Buchanan, Assistant Medical Officer, 11th February 1879. The inquiry which has been the occasion of the present report was made by direc- tion of the Local Government Board, in compliance with a memorial numerously signed by the inhabitants of Plymouth petitioning for an inquiry into the sanitary condition of their town. This, I may state, has on many previous occasions and on different accounts attracted the attention of the Government. In 1853 a comprehensive inquiry into the general sanitary circumstances of the town was made by Mr. Bawlinson, C.B., for the General Board of Health, and since the constitution of the Local Government Board inquiries have been held by Dr. (now Sir Anthony) Home in 1872 with reference to an epidemic of diphtheria; by Mr. Harrison, C.E., in 1873, into certain drainage nuisances; and by myself, in January of the present year, into the particulars of an epidemic of diphtheria. Plymouth is a municipal and parliamentary borough and seaport town, beautifully General situated in the south-west extremity of the county of Devon, and forming, with the description, neighbouring towns of Stonehouse and Devonport, one of the most important naval and military arsenals of the kingdom. It carries on a considerable foreign and coasting trade, and is the chief emigration depot for the Australian and New Zealand colonies. The municipal borough is coterminous with the registration district, and is bounded on the north by the registration districts of Stoke Damerel and Plympton; on the south by the magnificent harbour of the Sound, stretching into the English Channel; on the east by the Laira (an estuary of the river Plym) and the Catwater Channel; and on the west by the registration district of Stonehouse, and by Mill Bay, an arm of the Sound. Between Mill Bay and the Catwater is the inlet of Sutton Pool, which is the old commercial harbour, and now forms the chief seat of the coasting trade, while for the convenience of foreign trade extensive docks have been constructed at Mill Bay, and are the property of the Great Western Railway Company. The registration district of Plymouth contains the sub-districts of St. Andrew’s and Charles, covering in all an area of 1,510 acres, of which 850 are built over, 45 consist of water, and the remaining 615 acres of unoccupied land situated principally in the Charles district on the eastern side of the area. The town (not to speak of outlying parts of the district situated on a variety of levels) stands partly on two hills, north and south, and partly in the intervening valley. The north hill rises to a height of about 200 feet above sea level, but the south hill attains an elevation of only 100 feet, its summit terminating in the Hoe, a fine esplanade, extending from Mill Bay to Sutton Pool, and commanding an extensive view of the Sound, with the wooded slopes of Mount Edgcumbe on the right of the harbour and Staddon heights on the left, while in front the harbour is protectedjfrom the force of the channel by the breakwater, a stupendous structure of about one mile in extent. The oldest portions of the town, comprising the neighbourhood of Sutton Pool and extending to about the centre of the valley, consist of numerous confined courts and alleys, and narrow, irregular, and occasionally steep streets, in which the houses stand closely packed together. But in the more modern parts the streets are fairly broad and open, and are laid out in parallel lines intersecting each other at right angles, thus forming blocks or squares. The principal shops occupy the main thoroughfares of Bedford Street, George Street, and Union Street, the latter extending in a direct line to Stonehouse. Geologically the district consists principally of the Devonian formation, but the Geol(Jgy.' southern portion of it is crossed by a belt of limestone. The population is of an increasing character. In 1871 it was enumerated at 68,833, and is now estimated by the Registrar General at 73,599 ; while as regards density of population, Plymouth ranks third highest on the Registrar General’s list of large