Project ID: 646

DescriptionShops, Slums and Sanitation - Watford 1849 and beyond. The 1848 Public Health Act was the first step to improved public health and to stemming outbreaks of cholera, which were to claim in excess of 52,000 lives in the 19th century. Many towns set up Local Boards of Health which assumed responsibility for drainage, water supplies, removal of nuisances, and setting down new paving. Watford is presented as a case study, and illustrations with archive photos and drawings of some of the slum dwellings allow you to 'savour' conditions. Quite radical and surprising changes came about in terms of local governance, and in how High Streets looked and operated, as well as huge improvements in health and welfare.
TopicsSocial history
Talks
Science
TypeU3A-led research (not an SLP)
U3AWatford Central
Year started2017
Source of referenceTalk given at the U3A Science Network Meeting, Nottingham, 2017
NotesWilling to give this talk to other U3As