Industrial Revolution: Sanitation, Toilets, and class

Mar 18, 2021 | Individual Research (UG), Research | 0 comments

Overcrowding in a factory

https://londontopia.net/history/london-industrial-revolution/

Industrial Revolution: Sanitation, Toilets, and Class

Innovation and technology have left a huge impact on society. Both aspects can contribute to the advancement of society but at a consequence. A time period that shows how innovation can impact the masses is the Industrial Revolution era. This research focuses on the heart of England and the different technological and sociological impacts that the revolution sparked, especially in the sanitation infrastructure. The first part of the research was conducted as a summary of “The Metamorphosis of Ajax, jakes, and early modern urban sanitation” by Dolly Jorgenson, which gives an insight to some of the innovative technologies that were used to combat disease in the 18th and 19th century. These insights included the development of the flushable privy to the different approaches to sanitary solutions. The second half of the research, Sanitation Infrastructure and Class Disparity in The Industrial Revolution, addresses how these innovations triggered pollution and class disparity.

Industrial Revolution: Toilet + Infrastructure

Manufactured goods and tools meant that luxuries were more affordable, farmers were able to produce more food and consequently the population grew, and food prices plummeted. This surplus population made its way to the city to work in factories and as a result urban infrastructure was in dire need of innovation.

Sanitation Infrastructure and Class Disparity in The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution era of the 18th and 19th century led to the start of the technological boom in England which allowed for the nation’s population to grow with the advancement of farming and manufactured goods. In response to this boom, urban centers developed overcrowding issues that caused pollution and class disparity. To address the pollution and the problems that occurred due to unmanaged waste, reforms on sanitation infrastructure were developed.

Bathroom Practices

The way that people have used the bathroom has changed throughout time. Traces back to the earliest times when castles had drop towers to the modern toilet, we all know today.

Map of England

The locations of key highlights of the industrial revolution era

Bibliography

“Letter of Mr. J.W. Bazalgette on Establishment of Public Conveniences throughout the Metropolis : Printed by Order of Court, 22nd March, 1849 : London (England). Metropolitan Commission of Sewers : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive. [London] : Printed by Reynell and Weight, 16 Little Pulteney Street, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 08 Mar. 2021.

Jorgensen, Dolly. The Metamorphosis of Ajax, jakes, and early modern urban sanitation. Early English Studies. Vol. 3. 2010

Wright. “Clean and Decent : The Fascinating History of the Bathroom & the Water Closet and of Sundry Habits, Fashions & Accessories of the Toilet Principally in Great …” Web. 08 Mar. 2021.

Solomon, Steven. “Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization.” Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization. New York: Harper Perennial, 2011. 249-66. Print

https://blogs.uoregon.edu/evolutionofbathrooms/

Bathroom Practices

Mar 18, 2021 | Reflection | 0 comments

Public toilets

https://www.history.com/news/toilet-paper-hygiene-ancient-rome-china

Bathroom Practices

The way that people have used the bathroom has changed throughout time. Traces back to the earliest times when castles had drop towers to the modern toilet, we all know today. It has been interesting to learn how these different toilets have affected those that use them through my research and through my peers.

The primary focus of my research was around the sanitation infrastructure of the 18th and 19th century. Toilet designs were innovated as a response to disease. An example of such was the shift from people using chamber pots to using water closets. This specific innovation was a response to the belief that odors carried diseases and were the cause of many falling ill.

The social aspect of bathrooms also changed throughout time. In the past, bathrooms had little to no privacy. In many cases, there would be multiple toilets in one room with no barriers. An example of such would be Pompeii. The bathrooms that were used there were an area that contained latrine blocks with seats as slabs of stone, those stones contained holes for the users. When comparing these practices of the Victorian era, people were more private when it came to using the toilet. In some cases, music would be played to avoid hearing the sounds of the water closets flush. The only time that any cleaning practices were done for cleaning the excrement would be conducted at night.

All of these aspects around the historical practices around something that today seems nothing short from normal is extremely fascinating. Perhaps a hundred years from now, people will look back to this current frame of time and think the same thing.

London’s Night Men

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/work/19.html

Bibliography

Jorgensen, Dolly. The Metamorphosis of Ajax, jakes, and early modern urban sanitation. Early English Studies. Vol. 3. 2010

https://blogs.uoregon.edu/evolutionofbathrooms/

Sanitation Infrastructure and Class disparity

Mar 8, 2021 | History, Individual Research (UG), Industrial Revolution, Research, Thematic | 0 comments

Sanitation Infrastructure and Class Disparity in The Industrial Revolution

Figure 1: Factories running in London

Class Disparity in Cities

A larger divide in social class inequality followed the sanitation reform due to wealthier parts of the cities benefiting from the innovations while the poor parts still relied on the outdated systems that were initially in place. Due to the fact that the poor people, in this case the working class, still relied on the outdated sanitation systems, disease and pollution from human waste created poor living conditions.

Although the sanitation reforms that were established for 18th century England were put in place to address the issues with waste management that were causing disease, rural and working class neighborhoods of London’s infrastructure were not as developed which created a social inequality between the wealthy and working class.

Figure 2: Overcrowded dwellings in London

Figure 3: Busy streets in the city

Figure: 4 Drainage from homes leading in to the river

First Solutions and Pollution

Pollution increased as new innovations for toilets emerged, since most solutions involved flushing waste into the rivers. A prominent example was that the government pushed the use of public privies that were built on bridges since the river would wash away the waste. Privies were essentially a hole in the ground with a wooden seat right above it (Jorgensen). They were an effective way of managing human waste when a small number of people used them. The reason behind this was that waste was given the opportunity to decompose which in turn could be used as fertilizer. When a large number of people used the privies, the waste was not given the time to decompose which then caused the holes to fill with waste and cause foul odor (Goodman). This method of dealing with waste led to contamination of water and it only increased with the replacement of privies and the creation of water closets. Water closets were created in an attempt to manage the odors coming from the excrement. They consisted of a cistern that held water, the seat and a vessel with a sluice. The water closets created a variety of issues such as inadequate draining and rapid filling of the cesspits. As the construction of these water closets were expensive, they were not readily available to the working class. Working class families shared public privies. Later on, through the Metropolitan Sanitary Commission, domestic sewer lines were created and led to the Thames River.

Public privies caused contamination to water systems when the waste in the holes leaked out and seeped into the water systems. For example, the waste would seep into wells. Another form of contamination was cesspools being emptied into the rivers. Some parts of London had public privies constructed over bridges in efforts to wash away the waste. By directly emptying waste into the river, people became ill from using the contaminated water.

J.W. Bazalgette proposed a system of sewage lines and pumping stations to address the sanitation conditions and the cholera outbreaks. There were to be four large pumping stations constructed in the north, east, south, and west suburbs of London which would have underground sewer lines run through (Bazalgette). These lines ran on both sides of the Thames River. Since the lines were in the metropolis, this left the rural areas and a lot of the working-class neighborhoods without the new systems.

Although many things were more affordable for the middle class during the Industrial Revolution, the working class’s living conditions were quite poor. There were issues of overcrowding in not just the neighborhoods, but in the households as well (Solomon). In one household, there could be up to three families living together.

In addition, these households had inadequate water supply. Street taps would supply a limited amount of water to up to 30 households. For example, one street tap for the 30 households would sell for an hour a day and only a few times per week (Solomon). Furthermore, water wasn’t the only issue the working class had to live through during these times. In the households that did have water closets and sewer connection, the drainage was inadequate. The water closets would be located in the cellars and in many cases, they would overflow or leak. Since the homes in the neighborhood would share a wall, the occupants would find their cellars flooded with excrement from the other household if it leaked (Wright).

The occupants of these neighborhoods suffered from higher fatality rates than the others. They were affected by chronic illnesses, shortened life spans, and a high infant mortality rate in which 15 out of 100 infants died within a year of birth (Solomon).

One of the illnesses that took countless lives was cholera. It spread through contamination of water by leaky sewers that fed into wells and rivers. Since water was pumped from the rivers to provide drinking, cleaning, and cooking, neighborhoods near the contaminated pumps suffered high fatalities from the cholera bacteria (Solomon). Cholera could be identified by the symptoms the victim would develop. Intense diarrhea, cramps, vomiting, and fevers were a few that the victim would demonstrate. The most intense part of the illness was the rapturing capillaries that resulted in death (Solomon).

Figure 5: Under ground sewer line

Figure 6: Wentworth St. and the families that live there

Final Take Away

The Industrial revolution period was filled with great advancement and opportunity, but when looking at the living conditions of the working class in urban and rural areas, class disparity occurred. Inadequate living conditions such as overcrowding, poor drainage, limited water, and pollution caused the working class to suffer higher mortality rates. To address the problems that occurred due to these issues, reforms on sanitation infrastructure were developed.

Bibliography

“Letter of Mr. J.W. Bazalgette on Establishment of Public Conveniences throughout the Metropolis : Printed by Order of Court, 22nd March, 1849 : London (England). Metropolitan Commission of Sewers : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive. [London] : Printed by Reynell and Weight, 16 Little Pulteney Street, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 08 Mar. 2021.

Jorgensen, Dolly. The Metamorphosis of Ajax, jakes, and early modern urban sanitation. Early English Studies. Vol. 3. 2010

Wright. “Clean and Decent : The Fascinating History of the Bathroom & the Water Closet and of Sundry Habits, Fashions & Accessories of the Toilet Principally in Great …” Web. 08 Mar. 2021.

Solomon, Steven. “Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization.” Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization. New York: Harper Perennial, 2011. 249-66. Print.

Image source

Figure 1: https://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/smokestacks-of-industrial-revolution.jpg?w=720

Figure 2: Wright. “Clean and Decent : The Fascinating History of the Bathroom & the Water Closet and of Sundry Habits, Fashions & Accessories of the Toilet Principally in Great …” Web. 08 Mar. 2021.

Figure 3: https://spartacus-educational.com/DIScholera.htm

Figure 4: Wright. “Clean and Decent : The Fascinating History of the Bathroom & the Water Closet and of Sundry Habits, Fashions & Accessories of the Toilet Principally in Great …” Web. 08 Mar. 2021.

Figure 5: http://www.hevac-heritage.org/built_environment/pioneers_revisited/surnames_a-o/bazalgette.pdf

Figure 6: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wentworth_st,_Whitechapel_Wellcome_L0000878.jpg

Innovation of the English Sanitation Infrastructure

Jan 31, 2021 | History, Industrial Revolution, Research | 5 comments

Innovation of The English Sanitation Infrastructure

“A Court for King Cholera”

https://spartacus-educational.com/DIScholera.htm

Industrial Revolution: Toilet + Infrastructure

During the Industrial Revolution of England, the way of life of many urban poor changed. Manufactured goods and tools meant that luxuries were more affordable, farmers were able to produce more food and as a consequence the population grew and food prices plummeted. This surplus population made its way to the city to work in factories and as a result urban infrastructure was in dire need of innovation. The Metamorphosis of Ajax, jakes, and early modern urban sanitation by Dolly Jorgenson examines how toilets and infrastructure in England evolved throughout the years. This article addresses the sanitary issues that affected everyday life. For example, homes smelled from the use of personal jacks which raised concern for spread of various diseases. Through the “Metamorphosis of Ajax”, Jorgenson analyzes how Harington uses cultural constructions for a push for urban sanitation reform.

The article illustrates the different types of privies, the main ones being “within wall thicknesses, within towers, within turrets, chimneys, chambers over water, and cesspools” (Jorgensen 11 ). Jorgenson addresses that the most common design was a cistern that was shared between homes where there were several individual seats (11). Unfortunately, with how the urban setting was laid out, the wooden pipes that connected the seats to the cisterns would run through other homes causing smells. These problems are what lead the proposal of flushable privies and covered cesspools.

In order to advocate for sanitation reform, Harrington used satire, modern (for his time) medical understanding, and social status to reach out and connect with the population. For example, people believed that disease was caused by smells in a concept that was known as the miasmic theory ( Jorgenson 9). His invention trapped the “miasma” within water and in return kept the populace safe from diseases.

The Metamorphosis of Ajax and early modern urban sanitation” examines how toilets and infrastructure in England changed and evolved throughout the years by addressing the systemic issues caused by the existing conditions then analyzing the innovations and issues caused by them.

Harrington’s Privy

Harrington proposed a design that was made up of multiple components. The privy had a cistern that held water, the seat and a vessel with a sluice. This mechanism allowed for people to use the privy but control the smells since the water covered the waste and trapped the odor ( Jorgensen 15). To further elaborate, although flushable privies provided a temporary solution to the odors in homes, they created a secondary problem. Since more fluid was needed to make flushable privies function, the cesspools filled up a lot faster which then resulted in people needing to empty them out a lot more often. In addition, a lot of the flushable privies that were installed failed to function properly due to lack of proper construction.

With these issues in mind, Harington also proposed a centralized sewer system. He was inspired by the sewage systems designs that were used in Rome. In the article, Jorgenson addresses how Harrinton compares the Roman legislation to that of England. He illustrates how the government should manage the urban sewers to combat the spread of disease. Even though the government provided a few sanitary services to the public already, Harrinton proposed the sanitation reform on top of that in attempts to control the outbreaks of diseases. The authors highlight the importance of the government and the role in providing improved sanitation and sewage infrastructure.

reconstructed water closet, “Privy”

Kinghorn, Jonathan. A Privvie In Perfection, Sir John Harrington’s Water Closet.

River Thames

“Life in Industrial Towns.” History Learning Site, March 31, 2015.

Bibliography

Jorgensen, Dolly. The Metamorphosis of Ajax, jakes, and early modern urban sanitation. Early English Studies. Vol. 3. 2010

Topics: The Effects of Culture and Region in the Evolution of Bathrooms

Jan 10, 2021 | Questions | 0 comments

Potential Topics:

Did sanitation methods vary based on time period and culture?
What led to the creation of the modern bathroom/what is considered a modern bathroom?
How did social class influence the aesthetic of a bathroom?
How were advances in technology related/ influenced by region and culture?
In what ways did separation of genders influence public bathroom design and arrangement?