Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1627

SIR EDWIN CHADWICK (1800-1890) Report on the sanitary condition of the labouring population of Great Britain. A supplementary report on the results of a special inquiry into the practice of interment in towns. Printed by W. Clowes, for Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1843 vii [1] 279 pp., illus., tables. 21.3 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 1626

This report was issued as a supplement to the basic report of 1842. In it Chadwick made a careful analysis of the causes of mortality in 1838 and 1839 to determine if burial practices might have some effect on the public health. He determined that human remains emitted noxious and disease causing emanations which adversely affected the health of anyone exposed to them. The greatest danger was from the long retention of bodies in the single rooms where poorer families dwelled. In many instances burials were delayed because of excessive funeral expenses, natural reluctance to part with a family member, and fear of premature interment. Chadwick also criticized the practice of using church cemeteries if they were surrounded by inhabited dwellings because of atmospheric contamination resulting from shallow burials and ground water contamination from deeper burials.

Cited references: Wellcome II, p. 322

Gift of John Martin, M.D.