View report page

100
The system of house drainage which prevailed when the
Board was first established was such as would now he regarded
as insanitary in the extreme and absolutely intolerable, many
of the houses being drained into cesspools. During the first
three years which elapsed after 1855, no less than 488 of these
pests were done away with, and 667 privies cleansed, panned
and trapped as the result of the action of the Board. During
this period 1322 notices for abatement of nuisances, chiefly of
the kind referred to, were served, and 181 summonses taken
out under the Nuisances Removal Act of 1855. In its annual
report for 1858, the Board stated that "The Board in carrying
"out the duties devolving upon it, thought the improving the
"sanitary condition of the district to be the most important,
"for, although efficient lighting, paving and watering conduced
"to the public security, comfort and convenience, yet the
"abolition of nuisances, the removal of filth, and the acquisition
"of proper house drainage, ventilation and home cleanliness
"were higher considerations, and the Sanitary Committee had
"met fortnightly, and oftener when necessary, for the special
"purpose of adopting such measures as tended to promote
"the healthfulness of the district." Such has throughout
been the policy of the Board, and, whenever practicable, old
high level sewers, which were very numerous in the district,
have been done away with, and the houses drained into efficient
sewers which the Board has provided.
In the early days of the Board, tho Wellington Clock
Tower which stood at the foot of London Bridge, was a fruitful
source of contention and controversy, an influential section
of the members of the Board, constituting for a long time the
majority, contending that the tower was not only useful but a
great embellishment to the locality, and that, having been
erected as the result of a public subscription, the Board had no
right to remove it; others holding the opinion that it was a
serious obstacle to the traffic which was great and increasing,
and that it ought to be abolished. The tower in question was
erected by the Commissioners of the West Division of Borough
Pavements, about the year 1854, in commemoration of the Duke
of Wellington, and cost, I believe, over £1,500. The amount
was raised by public subscription, the Corporation of the City
of London, the Brighton and South Eastern Railway Companies
and a large number of the inhabitants of the Borough
being among the subscribers. It was a handsome Gothic
structure, rising from the centre of the roadway opposite Duke