"King Cholera" - The Victorian Killer

[Mutley]

I have just found the burial record of my ggg. grandparents on the same day in London in 1849. She was 56 and he was 64 so not that old. Why on the same day? While I wait for the certificates...

I googled and found that during this time there were many epidemics world wide. In the summer of 1849 over 33,000 people in three months died of cholera in Britain. Some reports are much higher.

There are many websites, wikipedia and others that tell of the horrific circumstances.

This one was particularly interesting regarding London and Manchester.
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~city19c/viccity/houshealth.html#hou

If you are wondering why several members of a family died together or you cannot find someone in the 1851 census, this could be the reason.

[Jan1954]

Fascinating link, Mutley.

Thank goodness for Joseph Bazalgette (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bazalgette_joseph.shtml), eh? (I was at college with his great, great grand-daughter!)

[spison]

Thankyou to all three of you! Your links were fascinating and most informative! I'm constantly surprised how anyone survived to breed!

Jane

[tony vines]

In Basingstoke in the mid 19th century the town's main water supply came from wells that were also used by the laundry near to the station. When the main foul drain was being laid through the nearby valley that bisects the town the workmen used large wooden bungs to isolate each section to stop it from filling up while they worked. Unfortunately after completing the sewer they forgot to remove all the bungs before opening the sewer. The foul water backed up,came out of the manholes and overflowed across the ground and thence down the water supply wells.

Result...inevitably cholera. Ironic when the purpose of the sewer was to clean up the town's plumbing to rid the town of periodic cholera outbreaks.

C**k ups have a habit of repeating over the years and about 100 years later in the 1970s the town's water supplies had moved to boreholes further along the same valley. Imagine the consternation then when during the re-development of an old factory nearby they uncovered dozens of open and corroded barrels of cyanide used when the factory was converted to munitions production during the war. This was just upstream of the boreholes. Boffins said it was too dangerous to move so they concreted it over and stuck warning signs all over the place.

Fast forward 30 years and after deciding to build a new roundabout on the ring road and an adjacent supermarket, they re-excavated the same cyanide by accident. Official records had been lost in just one generation! There was enough cyanide to kill the town's population many times over if it had got into the water supply.

Not sure where it got to this time!

Hence my motto below. Who'd drink water!

cheers

[spison]

Tony,

Your story reminded me of the history of the first graveyard in Newcastle, NSW. It was built on the hill above the town beside what is now Christchurch Cathedral. Can't remember how long it remained in use but it had to be closed for obvious reasons (seepage - eww!)|scold|

Jane

[tony vines]

Yuk!

What goes up must come down hey?

Or should that be what goes down shouldn't come up?

Whatever!

[Calder]

See the link below for the definitive examination on the link between the water supply and cholera in mid 19th century London. John Snow MD is considered to be the father of the (modern) science of epidemiology based on his research here. There is a specific chapter on the 1849 outbreak, what caused it, and it's effect on Southwark and other areas south of the river.

http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/snowbook3.html

Calder

[Mutley]

Very interesting, thank you Calder.
I shall be even more impatient now, to read the cause of death on the certificates. :)

I was amazed at the population figures for the London districts in the tables. It is no wonder we have difficulty finding our ancestors in the census.