Report on a prevalence of typhus at Dudley, and on the sanitary condition of that borough / by Thorne Thorne.

  • Thorne, R. Thorne (Richard Thorne), Sir, 1841-1899.
Date:
1871
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on a prevalence of typhus at Dudley, and on the sanitary condition of that borough / by Thorne Thorne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Om\ I8 port on a Prevalence of Typhus at Dudley, and on the Sanitary Condition of the Borough by Dr. Thorne Thorne. (Visited June 1871.) THE following Report is the result of an inquiry made, in accordance with my Lords’ instructions, into the sanitary condition of the registration sub-district of Dudley; the immediate cause of the inquiry being the large number of deaths registered during the two past quarters as resulting from “ fever.” The registration sub-district of Dudley, which extends over an area of 3,536 acres, is coterminous with the parish, and also with the municipal borough of Dudley, which latter term will, witen used in this Report, apply to the locality inspected. The borough of Dudley had, in 1861, a population of 44,975, but according to the uncorrected returns of the census for the present year, the number is only 43,791. The site of the borough is elevated, its mean height above the level of the sea being between 600 feet and 700 feet; it is very undulating, but slopes gradually towards the south. Geologically, the district lies not far from the centre of the South Staffordshire coal field; on its northern boundary the Wenlock limestone of the Silurian system has been forced up through the coal measures and forms the castle hill; to the east and less to the south, hills and dykes of basaltic formation are found. The soil overlying the deeper strata, and in most parts of the borough coming actually to the surface, consists either of a wThite clay, sometimes used for brick-making, or of a clayey soil, both being strong and very retentive of moisture. The principal avocations in wdiich the inhabitants are employed, and which, to a great extent, depend on the geological character of the district, consist of coal, lime, and ironstone mining, various manufactures of iron, especially nail and chain making, and also of glass-blowing and cutting. Forming a portion of the so-called Black Country, the district is in most parts covered by heavy clouds of dense smoke; dwelling-houses and other buildings may be seen cracked broken and even in ruins, owing to the sinking of the surface from mining operations beneath, and to the same cause are due numerous stagnant ponds which lie dotted here and there, and are locally known as “ swags.” Many of these are now polluted with sewage, as are also the canals which intersect the district, and even the small rivulets and streams which flow in or near the borough, and which once formed a water-supply of boasted purity, have suffered the same lot. Even the Mousesweet Brook, the name of which is but a perversion of “mouth sweet,” so proverbially sweet was its water, is now but an open sewer, the contents of which are far too foul to the sense of smell ever to be tested by that of taste. The district reported on has, since 1853, been under the control of a Local Board of Health, and, since the incorporation of the borough in 1865, that Board has been composed of the Mayor and Town Council for the time being. Recent Mortality Statistics.—An examination of the death registers for the ten years 1860-69 shows the following results:— Table I.—Analysis of the Death Registers for the Registration Sub-District of Dudley for the Decennial Period 1860-69.* Date. Estimated Population. Total Deaths from all Causes at all Ages. Number of Total Deaths per 1,000 of the Population. Number of Deaths Registered as due to the undermentioned Causes. “ Fever.” Scarlet Fever. Diphtheria. Small Pox. Diarrhoea, Choleraic Diarrhoea, Infantile Cholera. Cholera. Convulsions. Phthisis. 1860 45,093 1,001 22-3 32 52 2 61 ... 118 52 1861 44,975 991 22*2 43 21 4 ... 84 2 80 75 1862 44,856 1,195 26-8 57 70 14 ... 73 ... 102 53 1863 44,736 1,044 23 -4 62 42 7 18 60 102 61 1864 44,618 1,323 29-7 60 87 3 107 77 125 55 1865 44,499 1,059 23 9 75 50 3 14 106 ... 88 48 1866 44,381 1,061 24 0 63 28 3 ... 52 ... 107 56 1867 44,’63 893 20-2 25 9 ... ... 47 ... 66 42 1868 44,145 991 22-6 41 . 23 3 ... 100 ... 68 69 1869 44,027 1,010 22-9 43 112 6 ... 47 1 80 50 Total year , during 10 ) s 1860-69... f 10,568 (Average 23 *8) 521 494 45 139 707 3 956 561 * This Table does not include deaths occurring among paupers admitted into the Union House from the Parish of Dudley, because the House is in another registration sub-district, and no special notice has been taken of deaths due to mining accidents because their number is too small to have any appreciable effect on the total death-rate. In the three years ending 1869, 33 such deaths took place out of a total of 2,894.