Peoples health- Living Conditions Flashcards
When was the medieval period?
1250-1500
Medieval Housing
Countryside-
Lords had large manor houses
Peasant houses were made of mud and had thatched roofs
Animals were kept inside homes
Open fires in the middle of houses
Windows had shutters not glass
Towns-
Houses were built close together
Only rich people had houses
People were supposed to clean their drains but many didn’t
Medieval Food
People relied on harvests to get food throughout the year
Rye bread = ergotism
The rich could afford meat
Friday was Fish Friday due to religious reasons
Pottage
Ale was drunk more as it was cleaner than the water
Medieval Water
Conduits
Water sellers sold water out of leather sacks
Fresh water from springs/wells
Water from rivers was not clean
Medieval Waste
Latrines were public
Rakers removed waste
Gongfarmers removed waste from cesspits
Waste was used to fertilise fields
Waste heaps in public
Early modern housing
Accommodation was crowded and damp
Town-housing was packed together and made of wood
Fires spread quickly and burnt down many wooden housing. Stone began to replace it
Early modern food
Rich-
Ate large quantities of meat and fish
Enjoyed new foods (e.g. potatoes, spices, coffee)
Ate white bread
Small amounts of fruit and veg
Drank wine and ale
Poor-
Relied on harvest
Bread and pottage
Ate mostly vegetables
Had occasional eggs, cheese, fish and meat
Early modern Water
Rich-
Could afford piped water
Water could be bought
Poor-
Collected water from conduits
Bathed in rivers
Early modern Waste
People would put their waste in baskets to be collected by scavengers
Communal waste heaps
First flushing toilets
Public privies and latrines
Cesspits in gardens
Cesspits would be empties once or twice each year
Industrial Housing
Migration meant cities were overcrowded
Housing quality was poor
Rent was high
Families often lived in one room
Diseases like TB were spread easily
Back-to-back housing
The government believed in Laissez Faire
Industrial Food
Poor people relied on potatoes, bread and beer
In towns it was difficult tot get hold of fruit and vegetables
1860 Pure food Act
Cheap meat was available for the poor but it was poor quality
What Law made it illegal to alter food?
1860 Pure Food Act
Industrial Water
Water companies bought waster from ponds, rivers and streams
Water was dirty and unhealthy and promoted cholera
Privies collected waste but occasionally overflowed onto the water pipes
Industrial Waste
Sewers weren’t designed properly to carry human waste
Stinking water filled the street
People continued to use privies
Night soil men empties cesspools
The middle and upper class started to use flushing toilets
Swears were emptied directly into water sources
Modern Housing
Homes for Hero’s fro returning soldiers (500,000 homes were built)
1930 Slum Act lead to slums being removed and people into social housing that was cleaner and larger
Thousands of homes were destroyed during the Blitz
High rise flats
From 1979 Margeret Thatcher allowed people to buy their council houses
