Water, sanitation and health in the first industrial society: Britain 1780 – 1930

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Why did urban public health outcomes vary spatially and chronologically, 1838 - 1911?

Why were investments in WaSH interventions more closely associated with mortality changes in some areas than others? In order to clarify the causal links between investments and health outcomes we will undertake case studies in each of four different types of urban area:

1. where the approval of substantial loans appears to have been directly related to mortality decline
2. where the approval of substantial loans appears to have had little impact on mortality
3. where mortality declined in the absence of any significant loans
4. where no loans were approved and mortality rates were relatively unchanged

In each case, we will focus on the following issues:

1. how much attention was paid to public health issues in local debates
2. at what point, if any, was a decision to apply for a loan taken
3. what was the anticipated cost of the improvements which any loans were intended to finance
4. if a loan was approved, at what point was it contracted
5. what improvements were undertaken and when were they completed
6. what impact did they have?

We will also search for evidence of alternative forms of investment, such as the issuing of shares by private water companies, to examine the largely neglected question of the impact of private investments on mortality decline. Where possible, case study areas will be chosen that already enjoy detailed local municipal histories as well as good survival of Medical Officer of Health reports detailing the presence or absence of progressive changes in water provision and faecal disposal methods.

Outputs

Banner images: Plan shewing the arrangement of "back to back" houses, and the remoteness & exposure of the privies, First report, Royal Commission on the State of Large Towns (1844); The First West Hartlepool Town Council, by J. Clark (1858–1943), photo credit Hartlepool Museums and Heritage Service; The celebration of the opening of the waterworks in front of the George Hotel, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, by W. Millington (1810 – 1890), photo credit Trowbridge Museum.