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21
Nos. 41 & 42,
Great Alie St.,
Norwich
Court,
7, Artillery
Passage,
12, Spital
Square.
Cesspools were found at each of these premises,
and it will be interesting to give a few
particulars relating to each, taking them in the
order given.
1st. —For some considerable time filthy
matter had been percolating into basement of
Jewish Working Men's Club, in Great Alie
Street, from the adjoining premises, and it was
not until every effort had failed to find out the
cause, that a complaint was lodged at this office. Upon visiting
No. 42, Great Alie Street, the drain was found stripped for inspection,
and there seemed nothing apparently wrong with it. The
drain of No. 41, which adjoins, was ordered to be opened up and
was found to be very defective, and the soil beneath very much
saturated. Orders were given for all wet and filthy soil to be
removed, and after going down about two feet the top of a large
cesspool was discovered; this was ordered to be immediately
cleared out, and was subsequently filled in with dry rubbish. The
cesspool was circular in shape, 9 feet in diameter and 9 feet deep,
and there were 3 disused brick barrel drains running into it. The
party-wall dividing yards of Nos. 41 and 42, Great Alie Street,
and the closets of each house were built over this cesspool, which
had no other cover except the 2 feet of earth mentioned. There
is now no percolation into the Club premises whatever.
2nd.—A circular cesspool, about 7 feet by 2 feet 6 inches
diameter, was found in Norwich Court, through the brick barrel
drain being opened up to find out cause of a stoppage. This cesspool
had an overflow into a deep shoot, and all drainage passed
down same and into and through the drain of No. 18, Upper East
Smithfield. Nos. 16 and 17, Upper East Smithfield were connected
into the brick barrel drain in Norwich Court. The cesspool
was cleared out and filled in with dry rubbish and concrete.
The discovery of this cesspool led to the re-construction of drains
of Nos 16, 17 and 18, Upper East Smithfield, and to the construction
of a pipe sewer in Norwich Court, the latter work being
carried out by the Surveyor, Mr. W. La Riviere.
3rd.—The circumstances which led to the discovery of a cesspool
at No. 7, Artillery Passage were somewhat similar to those
relating to Nos. 41 and 42, Great Alie Street. The cesspool in