Sue Cook and the team answer listeners' historical queries and celebrate the way in which we all 'make' history.
Series 12
Programme 7
29 November 2005
Croydon Typhoid Outbreak of 1937
Why was there an outbreak of typhoid in a town that was among the first to adopt the Public Health Act of 1848?
Typhoid fever is an infectious feverish disease with severe symptoms in the digestive system in the second phase of the illness. Classic typhoid fever is a serious disease. It can be life-threatening, lasts several weeks and convalescence takes some time. The disease is transmitted from human to human via food or drinking water, and it is therefore mainly hygiene and sanitary conditions that determine its spread. It is rarely seen in Europe today but 200 years ago would have been quite common.
The typhoid outbreak in of 1937 in Croydon was actually one of three which followed the adoption of the principles set down by the Public Health Act of 1848. The act of 1848 provided for a Central Board of Health with powers to supervise street cleaning, refuse collection, water supply and sewerage disposal. Croydon was the first place to install an integrated water supply/sewage disposal system. Opened in 1851 by the Archbishop of Canterbury it was, according to Professor Nick Goddard of Anglia Ruskin University, hailed as a pioneering sanitary system with water pumped from a chalk aquifer to an enclosed reservoir. However, the death rate in the town actually increased and there was a typhoid outbreak in 1853 - possibly because the new drainage/sewage system allowed the disease to spread more quickly. Then in 1875 there was a further outbreak in which 90 people died and this was blamed by some on the water supply. Indeed the problems that Croydon faced persuaded larger towns and cities, such as Manchester, not to update their water and sewage systems!
Professor Nick Goddard believes that Croydon had problems because it was a 'pioneer'. The authorities made mistakes with the infrastructure - the sewage pipes were too small and often got blocked - and there were problems with the water supply. But it did set precedents and provided an example for other towns and cities to work with.
Making History consulted Professor Nick Goddard of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge and spoke to 97-year-old Violetta Plackett who remembers the 1937 typhoid outbreak.
By Nick Goddard:
'Sanitate Crescamus: Water Supply, Sewage Disposal and Environmental Issues in a Victorian Suburb' in D. Schott, B. Luckin, G. Massard-Guilbaud (eds), Resources of the City (Ashgate, 2005)
'Victorian Sanitary Reform: where were the Innovators?' (with J. Sheail) in C. Bernhardt (ed), Environmental Problems in European Cities in the 19th and 20th Century (New York/Muenchen/Berlin: Waxmann, Muenster, 2001)
Merlin's Swing
Making History listener Audrey Wood is a guide in Bath. She knows a lot about the history of the city, but there is something that has puzzled her for years. In 1795 a Pleasure Garden was opened at what is now Sydney Gardens. One of the attractions was a maze and, according to maps of the gardens, in the middle of the maze was a swing designed by John Joseph Merlin. Audrey wanted to know more about Merlin and this particular swing.
John Joseph Merlin was born in Belgium in 1735 and moved to London where he became a clockmaker. It is said that he was the first person to invent the roller-skate (in the 1760s), a pianoforte-harpsichord and a machine which allowed blind people to play cards! Many of his inventions were aimed at helping people with mobility or wider health problems. He invented a wheelchair which can be seen today at Kenwood House in London and he built several swings. At the time it was thought that swinging was helpful to people suffering from TB. However, because no pictures of Merlin's swing in Bath exist, it is difficult to confirm whether this was purely a tourist attraction or a device aimed at the well-being of the visitor. Making History would be pleased to hear from anyone with pictorial or written evidence of the swing.
Michael Wright, author of the catalogue for the Merlin exhibition at Kenwood House in 1985 and formerly of the Science Museum
Gays and Lesbians in the British Forces during World War Two
Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council of Great Britain, Emma Vickers of the University of Lancaster is researching male and female veterans' experiences of the Second World War, including specifically the experiences of gay and lesbian service personnel. She is urgently seeking veterans to interview and has approached Making History for help. Hers is the first study of its kind in the UK and is based primarily on oral testimony and records from The National Archives.
Vanessa has presented science and current affairs programmes for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for BBC Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald.
Contact Making History
Send your comments and questions for future programmes to: Making History BBC Radio 4 PO Box 3096 Brighton BN1 1PL
Vanessa has presented science and current affairs programmes for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for BBC Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald. 