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The shelves and tables should be placed so that their upper
surfaces may be at a height of 2½-ft., or of not more than 3 feet above
the floor.
The ceiling and internal surface of the walls should be whitewashed
; the outside of the roof should also be whitened.
The entrance to the chamber should be direct, without the
intervention of any passage.
The number of chambers should be at least two, so that one
may be appropriated exclusively for the bodies of persons who have
died of infectious disease, and the other for the bodies of persons
whose death has been due to other causes. It may be expedient to
place these chambers as far apart as may be practicable, so that
persons visiting the chamber used for the reception of the bodies of
those who have died of non-infectious disease, may have no reason
to fear infection.
The Memorandum not only contains the above suggestions as to
site and structure, but as to administrative arrangements; but these
latter I have not thought it necessary to trouble you with at present.
The last time that I brought before you the question of providing a
proper Mortuary for the District, was in my Report for the Quarter ended
March, 1878, in which I stated that "the Public Health Bill for the
Metropolis, which was brought forward by Mr. Sclater Booth, contained
some valuable regulations for promoting the Public Health ;
among which was the rendering it compulsory on Local Boards to
provide, if required by the Local Government Board, a place for the
reception of dead bodies before interment (called a Mortuary.) As
the law stands at present it is merely permissive for Local Boards to
provide a Mortuary."
There should also be provided a suitable place for a post mortem
room, so constructed as to enable a medical man to properly
examine a body when it is necessary to ascertain the cause
of death. This room should be light and well ventilated, it being
impossible to make a post mortem examination properly in the confined
rooms of some of the houses occupied by the poor.
It is also most desirable to provide a suitable room for the holding
of Coroners' inquests; for public houses, in which inquests are
frequently held, are highly improper places for holding such important
inquiries.