Report relating to the sanitary condition of the District of Gray's Inn.

  • Gray's Inn (London, England). Sanitary Authority.
Date:
[1898]
Catalogue details

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

Credit: Report relating to the sanitary condition of the District of Gray's Inn. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    2 Inspection chambers and interceptor traps have been placed at 2, Gray's Inn Square, 9, Gray's Inn Square, and 3, Raymond Buildings, into which all drains and gullies from these houses now discharge. Complaints having been made of bad smells coming from several of the street-gullies in the Inn, my investigations led me to condemn five of these (four in Gray's Inn Square and one in South Square) as being antiquated and insanitary. Each of these had below it a brick cesspit with very foul contents. One of these pits was five and a half feet deep. Another (opposite 2, Gray's Inn Square) discharged by an overflow into a huge cesspool, which had evidently, in former days, received sewage from several houses on west side of the Square, and which in its turn overflowed into an old brick barrel drain. All these pits were emptied and then filled in with dry rubbishy and new hinged gully gratings were fixed over new Doulton's four feet earthenware gullies. In several cases where stagnant water collected in the areas of houses, the flagstones have been sloped and new gullies have been made to carry it off. Several old container closets have been superseded by those of modern design, and in many cases the flushing arrangements have been much improved. I beg to thank the Sanitary Committee for much courtesy and kindness shown me, and for the readiness they have always evinced to entertain any suggestions of mine, which have had for their object improved sanitation I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, E. G. YOUNGER, M.D. 19, Mecklenburgh Square, W.C., January, 1898.