London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
St Giles (Camden) 1883
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Giles District]
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Cost of Street Cleansing.
The total cost of street cleansing for the year 1883-4 was as follows:—
| £ | s. | d. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wages of men and boys | 2,114 | 5 | 3 |
| Brooms, scrapers, shovels, &c., and clothing for men and boys | 256 | 8 | 3 |
| Cartage of slop and street sweepings, hire of horses for street sweeping and sand distributing machines | 2,368 | 4 | 8 |
| Total cost of cleansing for the year | £4,738 | 18 | 2 |
Street Watering.
The street watering was performed by contract, the
contractor supplying all carts, horses, and drivers required,
at a fixed price for the whole work for the year.
In view of a possible outbreak of Cholera in the Metropolis,
in about the middle of the year your Board considered
it advisable that the market streets in south St.
Giles, which had previously been cleansed once only on
Sunday mornings, viz., between the hours of 6 and 9,
should be twice cleansed, firstly between the hours of 12
and 3 a.m., and again between 12 noon and 2.30 p.m.; and
that after such second cleansing the said streets, as well as
certain other streets inhabited by the poorer classes within
the district, should be copiously watered—a small quantity
of carbolic acid being added to the water.
This cleansing and watering has been continued to the
present time, and, it is believed, with beneficial effect.