Case Study ; Cardiff Flashcards
What were living conditions like in Cardiff in the 19th Century?
- houses were built quickly with no thought of sanitation
- houses were built back to back
- no ventilation, drainage or adequate water supply
- narrow streets were unpaved, often following lines of streams to get rid of household waste and excrement
Stanley street stats?
Late 1840’s Stanley Street had 18 houses with 2 rooms each, with a privy opening directly onto a living room, waste was barely emptied
-street was 4.5m wide with raw sewage flowing down it
Why did Cholera spread in 19th Century Cardiff?
- Cardiff got their water from either Glamorganshire Canal, Bute Dock , the River Taff or street pumps
- often these were poisoned by cesspits leaking into them
How did disease spread quickly in 19th century Cardiff?
- no ventilation, drainage or adequate water supply
- narrow streets were unpaved, often following lines of streams to get rid of household waste and excrement
- overcrowding in houses
Stats for overcrowding in 19th century Cardiff?
-1851 census showed that 17 Stanley Street housed 54 people
When was their a cholera outbreak in Cardiff and how many died?
- Long summer of 1849
- Last death came in November, 396 people died because of Cholera
- 1893- 3 deaths (fewer due to piped water and new sewers)
How did Cardiff attempt to control of the Cholera?
- medical officers to visit poorer houses twice a day
- landlords had to ventilate lodges
- dispensaries were opened where advice and remedies were issued
- ordered frequent cleansing and removal of all filth, odours and nuisances
How did Cardiff attempt at improving public health in Cardiff in the nineteenth century
- 1848 Public Health Act
- The Rammel Report (1850)
- The work of Dr Henry James Paine
- Clean water
- Cardiff infirmary
How did the 1848 Public Health Act help improve public health in Cardiff?
Granted Cardiff permission to set up a local health board responsible for housing standards, water supplies and sewers
What was The Rammel Report (1850)
highlighted the problems e.g. poor water supply, lack of sewers, poor housing etc;
What did Dr Henry Paine do?
- 1850 supplied clean drinking water with Cardiff Waterworks
- 1856 spent 200,000 pounds for a new sewage and draining system
- Inoculating people to protect against smallpox
When was Cardiff Infirmary built?
1883
How did the Public Health Act 1875 attempt at improving public health in Cardiff
-ordered councils to cover open sewers, supply fresh clean
Was Cardiff’s attempts successful ?
Yes, the death rate fell
- 1900 Cardiff had the 4th lowest infant mortality rate
- By 1905 when Cardiff became a city it had a sports stadium, university and parks
What things were successful; in improving public health ion Cardiff?
- Government and it’s legislation
- Cardiff Corporation
