| Eradicating
Filth: Public Health in Victorian Times
Timeline of events 1777 - 1900 |
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1777-1848
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Wolverhampton Township Commissioners were established in 1777. By the time the borough council was established in 1848 the town faced major health problems. |  |
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1832
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Cholera epidemic - almost 5% (800) of Bilston's population lose their lives | |
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1841
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Census
figures show the population of Wolverhampton
is 36,382; Bilston 20,180; Wednesfield
3,168 and Willenhall 8,695. Click on the names of the towns to find out more. |
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1843
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Report to The Commissioners on the Employment of Children published | |
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1844
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Royal Commission for the Inquiry on the Sanitary State of Large Towns and Populous Districts 1844 or Chadwick Report. | |
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1848/9
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Further cholera outbreak - approximately 500 die in Wolverhampton | |
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1848
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Public Health Act passed | |
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1849
- 1851
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Problems with pollution and health hazards at Bilston Brook reported. | |
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1849
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Report to the General Board of Health on a Preliminary Inquiry into Sewerage, Drainage, and the Supply of Water, and the Sanitary Conditions of the Inhabitants of the Borough of Wolverhampton, and the Townships of Bilston, Willenhall, and Wednesfield Produced by Robert Rawlinson: Government Inspector and Civil Engineer | |
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1850
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Wolverhampton Borough Council defines the roles of its committees to tackle health concerns. | |
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1851
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Tyhpus fever reported at Gibbet Lane, Bilston | |
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1852
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Bilston Medical Officer of Health's report published | |
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1853
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Opening of Bilston Public Baths and washhouse 24th September | |
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1855-1866
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Following Rawlinson's report, between 1855 and 1866 five schemes for sewering Wolverhampton are produced. | |
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1855
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Mr Rose of Liverpool is given the contract for the removal of night soil from the town. | |
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1856
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A Joint Sanitary Committee is formed between Heath Town and Wednesfield Heath - the first form of local government for the area. | |
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1861
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Bilston Sanitary and Streets Committee receives a report about the 'disgracefully filfthly' state of Pinfold | |
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1866
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Sanitary Act passed | |
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1871/2
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Smallpox kills 446 in Wolverhampton. | |
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1872
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Scarlet fever kills 224 in Wolverhampton | |
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1872
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The Public Health Act establishes sanitary authorities in rural and urban areas who appointed medical officers of health (MoH). | |
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1872
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Wolverhampton appoints Vincent Jackson as its first (temporary) medical officer of health. | |
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1874
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The Ballard Report entitled: Report to the Local Government Board on the Sanitary Condition of the Municipal Borough of Wolverhampton is published. | |
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1875
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Artisan's Dwelling Act passed which aids the clearance of slums | |
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1881
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Census figures reveal Wolverhampton's population has more than doubled since 1841 rising from 36,382 to 75,766 | |
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1886
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Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health report published | |
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1873
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Fever and scarletina raised as concerns in Bilston | |
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1887
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Henry Malet the Medical Officer of Health for Wolverhampton publishes his annual report to the Sanitary Committee, entitled Sanitary Condition of the Borough of Wolverhampton. | |
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1886
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Heath Town Medical Officer's report published | |
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1890
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Measles outbreak at Bushbury | |
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1897
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Over 150 people die from diarrohea in Wolverhampton | |
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1900
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Dr Ridley Bailey of Wolverhampton publishes his last report of the 19th century outlining health issues which still need to be tackled. | |
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