A supplementary report on the results of a special inquiry into the practice of interment in towns.Chadwick, Edwin
History
A supplementary report on the results of a special inquiry into the practice of interment in towns.
Chadwick, Edwin
Burial; Cemeteries -- Great Britain; Mortality -- Statistics; Public health -- Great Britain; Working class -- Great Britain
Do you not think the smell arose from the emanations of the sewer,
and not from the burying-ground?—I am sure they came from the
burying-ground; the smell coming from the drain was exactly the same
as that which reached us when the wind was west, and blew upon us
from the burying-ground. The smell was very peculiar; it exactly
resembled the smell which clothes have when they are removed from a
dead body. My servants would not remain in the house on account of
it, and I had several cooks who removed on this account.
Did you observe any effects on your health when the smells were
bad?—Yes, I am liable to head-aches, and these were always bad when
the smells were so also. They were often accompanied by diarrhœa in
this house. Before I went there, and since I left, my head-aches
have been very trifling.
Were any of the other inmates of the house afflicted with illness?—I
had often to send for the surgeon to my servants, who were liable to
ulcerated sore throats.
And your children, were they also affected?—My youngest child was
very delicate, and we thought he could not have survived; since he
came here he has become quite strong and healthy, but I have no
right to say the burying-ground had any connexion with his health.
§ 14. In the course of an examination of the Chairman and Surveyor of
the Holborn and Finsbury Division of Sewers, on the general management
of sewers in London, the following passage occurs:—
“You do not believe that the nuisance arises in all cases from the
main sewers? (Mr. Roe)—Not always from the main sewers. (Mr.
Mills)—Connected with this point, I would mention, that where the
sewers came in contact with church-yards, the exudation is most
offensive.
“Have you noticed that in more than one case?—Yes.
“In those cases have you had any opportunities of tracing in what
manner the exudation from the church-yards passed to the sewer?—It
must have been through the sides of the sewers.
“Then, if that be the case, the sewer itself must have given
way?—No; I apprehend even if you use concrete, it is impossible but
that the adjacent waters would find their way even through cement;
it is the natural consequence. The wells of the houses adjacent to
the sewers all get dry whenever the sewers are lowered.
“You are perfectly satisfied that in the course of time
exudations very often do, to a certain extent, pass through the
brick-work?—Yes; it is impossible to prevent it.
“Have you ever happened to notice whether there was putrid matter in
all cases where the sewer passed through a burial-ground?—The last
church-yard I passed by was in the parish of St. Pancras, when the
sewer was constructing. I observed that the exudation from it into
the sewer was peculiarly offensive, and was known to arise from the
decomposition of the bodies.
“At what distance was the sewer from the church-yard where you found
that?—Thirty feet.”
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