View report page

135
Vestry's surveyor, dated January, 1889, setting out the results
of an enquiry made by him of the surveyors to the local
authorities in London generally. At that date, in the 80 miles
of roads in Kensington, there were approximately 6,500
gullies: a few were of "the most ancient type termed the
Westminster Hopper" (as at Royal-crescent, Notting-hill); a
larger number being stoneware pan gullies syphon-trapped;
but the great majority consisting of brick catchpits, "trapped
at the outlet in sewer with 6-inch stoneware block flap traps"
—a form of "trap" ineffective for excluding stench. In
London generally, "the use of stoneware pan gullies was
much smaller than that of brick gullies, and the majority of
the surveyors expressed opinions in favour of the latter"—
probably on the ground of convenience; for on sanitary
grounds the superior efficacy of the syphon-trapped gulley is
admitted. "In several mews and a few other places where a
regular supply of surface water is assured, stoneware pan gullies
with syphoned outlets "were already in use; and such gullies
have since been introduced in other mews, and in streets
paved with asphalte. No bad consequences have been
noted arising from the use of these gullies: complaints of
stench are few, and when a pan gulley has been substituted
for the brick catch-pit, it has proved effectual. The surveyor
describes the comparative merits of the two forms of gullies:
the stoneware gullies "are cleaner than brick catch-pits and
provide (subject to conditions) a better trap against sewer
gas." The virtues of the brick gully are that it is "more substantial,
does not choke so readily, and demands much less
attention"—excellent points from an executive officer's point
of view. The "main objection to brick catch-pit gullies is the
inefficient trap"—a fatal defect from a public health point of
view. The stoneware gullies "must be regularly flushed with
water in dry weather, in order to keep the syphons charged
it may, therefore, be assumed that some additional expense