Health and housing in the 19th century

In March 1840, the government were so concerned about sanitation and living conditions that they set up a Parliamentary Health Select Committee to report on the the health of towns. The findings revealed the scale of overcrowding, and the descriptions from health specialists drew a vivid picture of the extreme filth and disease that resulted in widespread death. Dr William Duncan in Liverpool and James Riddel-Wood discuss the cholera epidemic and miasma (stench) in Manchester. Further discussion is also held about similar conditions in Leeds and Glasgow.