Herefordshire Through Time
Herefordshire Through Time
Extracts from:
Report to the General Board of Health on a preliminary inquiry into the sewerage, drainage, and supply of water, and the sanitary condition of the inhabitants of the City of Hereford in the County of Hereford (Thomas Webster Rammell, 1853)
(population in 1851: 11,156), extracted from the Registers of Death. (He gives the figures quarterly, here only the annual totals are reproduced.)
| Causes of Death | 1846 | 1847 | 1848 | 1849 | 1850 | 1851 | 1852 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All causes | 310 | 273 | 325 | 290 | 305 | 288 | 299 | 2,090 |
| Zymotic (epidemic, endemic and contagious) diseases | 17 | 33 | 57 | 18 | 48 | 36 | 49 | 258 |
| Sporadic diseases: | ||||||||
| Dropsy, cancer and other diseases of uncertain or variable seat | 15 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 7 | 87 |
| Tubercular diseases (consumption, scrofula ...) | 47 | 33 | 43 | 34 | 41 | 28 | 40 | 266 |
| Diseases of the brain, spinal marrow, nerves and senses | 52 | 52 | 59 | 44 | 60 | 52 | 50 | 369 |
| Diseases of the heart and blood vessels | 10 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 77 |
| Diseases of the lungs and other organs of respiration | 46 | 47 | 50 | 51 | 36 | 48 | 55 | 333 |
| Diseases of the stomach, liver, and other organs of digestion | 37 | 26 | 30 | 26 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 179 |
| Diseases of the kidneys ... | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 31 |
| Childbirth, diseases of the uterus | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| Rheumatism, diseases of the bones, joints ... | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 26 |
| Diseases of the skin, cellular tissue ... | 3 | - | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 | - | 15 |
| Premature birth and debility | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 31 |
| Atrophy | 10 | 11 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 99 |
| Age | 19 | 18 | 23 | 37 | 25 | 19 | 27 | 168 |
| Violence, privation, cold and intemperance (inquests unspecified) | 20 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 113 |
| Causes not specified | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 20 |
| Institution | 1848 | 1849 | 1850 | 1851 | 1852 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union House | 48 | 23 | 38 | 33 | 26 | 168 |
| Union House Infirmary | 20 | 13 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 86 |
| County Gaol | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Asylum | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | 1 | 10 |
| City Gaol | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 |
1. That the city of Hereford is situate on the north bank of the Wye, which here takes a circuitous course, inclosing one of the parishes, that of St. Owen, on three sides; and that the town is skirted at its eastern and western extremities by two brooks, one called the Town-brook and the other the Mill-brook, and that for mill purposes the waters of the latter are dammed up considerably above their natural level; that the general level of the city is low, being in the highest parts only 18 or 20 feet above the level of the Wye; and that the consequence is that the city is occasionally subject to storm floods, particularly on the northern and eastern sides.
2. That some provision has been made within a few years past, for the carrying off of surface waters, but that additional and improved provision is still very necessary.
3. That, as respects surface drainage, the provision is very limited in extent, and not having been done upon any well devised system, it is most unsatisfactory in operation; the sewers, upon a recent occasion when they were examined, being found all more or less loaded with deposit, and some entirely choked up; that, although the discharge of privy-soil into the sewers is prohibited, the privies of many of the houses communicate with them.
4. That the greater portion of the sewage of the town is discharged in the first instance into open streams, which surround the city, emptying eventually into the Wye; but that a part of it is deposited in a mill-pond; and that offensive emanations contaminate the neighbouring atmosphere.
5.That the privy accommodation is very deficient, and that in the great majority of cases it is in connexion with cesspools, which are purposely so constructed that the liquid refuse may drain away into the soil.
6. That there is no public provision for water supply, the inhabitants drawing their supply chiefly from wells; that the well water is hard, and in many cases polluted by the leakage of filthy refuse from cesspools.
7. That many nuisances exist in the city which there is no adequate power to suppress.
8. The the city is lighted with gas, from works established under Act of Parliament by a company, but which are now leased to an individual.
9.That the sanitary condition of the inhabitants is low, the mortality being at the rate of 27 to 1,000 of the population; that a large proportion of deaths are due to zymotic diseases, the average number of such cases being 40 annually out of an average gross mortality of 300; and that the proportion of deaths from such causes to the number of the population is as 1 to 300.
10. That there is a great deficiency of burial accommodation in the city, the cathedral precincts and the old burial grounds being much overcrowded; and that their condition is detrimental to the health of the community;
11. That the comfort and health of the inhabitants would be promoted, and their condition improved by -
a. An improved system of surface drainage, and the lowering of the water level by the removal of the mill-dams of the brooks in the immediate vicinity.
b. A complete system of refuse drainage.
c. An abundant supply of pure water.
d. Increased privy accommodation and the filling-up of all existing cesspools.
e. Improved ventilation and other sanitary arrangements in the dwellings of the poor.
f. Increased burial accommodation.
I therefore recommend:
I. That the Public Health Act, 11 & 12 Victoria, be applied to the city and liberties of Hereford.
II. That the boundaries within which the Act be so applied be those defined by the Act 2 & 3 Will.4.c.64. [Upon the Act being applied the Town Council will be the Local Board of Health for the district.]
I have the honour to be, My Lords and Gentlemen, Your very obedient servant, T.W. Rammell, Superintending Inspector.