The Great Stink of London: Sir Joseph Bazalgette and the Cleansing of the Victorian Metropolis

by Stephen Halliday

Overview

In the sweltering summer of 1858 the stink of sewage from the polluted Thames was so offensive that it drove Members of Parliament from the chamber of the House of Commons. Sewage generated by a population of over two million Londoners was pouring into the river and was being carried to and fro by the tides. The Times called the crisis "The Great Stink". Parliament had to act - drastic measures were required to clean the Thames and to improve London's primitive system of sanitation. The great engineer entrusted by Parliament with this enormous task was Sir Joseph Bazalgette. This book is an account of his life and work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750925808
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	02/15/2001
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.77(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.56(d)

About the Author

Stephen Halliday is the author of The Great Filth: Disease, Death and the Victorian City, and Newgate.