Joseph Bazalgette: The Victorian Engineer Who Built the Sewers That Saved London

Joseph Bazalgette: The Victorian Engineer Who Built the Sewers That Saved London

Could one man’s engineering plans help to rescue Victorian London from disease, filth and an unbearable smell?

Today I want to find out a little about Joseph Bazalgette. He was the civil engineer responsible for designing the enormous sewer network that transformed London and helped to protect millions of people.

Joseph William Bazalgette was born on the 28th of March 1819 in Enfield, Middlesex. He trained as a civil engineer and initially worked on railway projects before establishing his own consultancy.

The pressure of his work eventually damaged his health. In 1847, Joseph suffered a serious breakdown caused by exhaustion and was forced to take time away from engineering.

After recovering, he joined the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers in 1849. London’s population was growing rapidly, but its sanitation system had failed to keep pace.

Many homes had to rely on overflowing cesspits, while drains carried human waste and industrial pollution into the River Thames. The increasing use of flushing toilets made the problem even worse by sending more sewage directly into the river.

This created a serious danger because parts of London’s drinking water were also taken from the Thames. Cholera epidemics repeatedly swept through the city, killing thousands of people.

In 1856, Joseph became Chief Engineer of the newly created Metropolitan Board of Works. He developed plans for a vast underground sewer system, but the cost caused politicians to delay approving the project.

Well, the inevitable happened in the hot summer of 1858.

The water level of the Thames fell, which left sewage and rotting waste exposed along its banks. The smell became so overpowering that it could be smelt in the Houses of Parliament. This crisis became known as the Great Stink.

Politicians could no longer ignore the problem, in part because now it was directly affecting them. Funding for Joseph’s plans was finally approved.

His design used large intercepting sewers to collect waste before it entered the Thames in central London. The sewage was then carried east, away from the most heavily populated parts of the city.

Around 1,100 miles of street drains and sewers fed into approximately 82 miles of new brick-lined main sewers. Pumping stations were built at places including Crossness and Abbey Mills to help move the waste through the system.

Joseph deliberately made the sewers larger than needed because he believed London would continue to grow. He was right! His planning allowed much of the network to remain in use for generations.

The project also reshaped the city above ground. The Victoria, Albert and Chelsea Embankments were created partly to contain the new sewers, while they also provided roads and walkways beside the river.

The sewer system greatly reduced the contamination of London’s water supplies. London experienced one final major cholera outbreak in 1866, largely confined to an East London district that had not yet been connected to the new system.

Joseph retired in 1889 and died on the 15th of March 1891. Most Londoners never saw his greatest achievement because it remained hidden under their feet, but his work changed the city forever.

Do you think Joseph Bazalgette deserves to be remembered as one of the greatest heroes of Victorian Britain?

Zofia Kossak-Szczucka: The Polish Writer Who Helped to Lay the Foundations of Żegota

Zofia Kossak-Szczucka: The Polish Writer Who Helped to Lay the Foundations of Żegota

Could someone hold deeply prejudiced views and yet still risk everything to save the people they opposed?

Today I want to find out a little about Zofia Kossak-Szczucka. She was a successful Polish writer and resistance member who helped to establish Żegota, the underground organisation created to rescue Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Zofia was born on the 10th of August 1889 in Kośmin, then part of the Russian Empire. She came from a well-known artistic family. Her grandfather, Juliusz Kossak, and her uncle, Wojciech Kossak, were both celebrated Polish painters.

She married Stefan Szczucki, but after his death she moved to Górki Wielkie in southern Poland. In 1925, she married her second husband, Zygmunt Szatkowski.

Before the Second World War, Zofia became known for her historical and religious writing. Her novels often explored Polish history, Christianity and the Crusades, and several were translated into other languages.

When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Zofia became involved in the resistance. Using the code name Weronika, she worked for underground newspapers and helped to establish the Catholic resistance organisation known as the Front for the Rebirth of Poland.

In the summer of 1942, German forces began the mass deportation of Jewish people from the Warsaw Ghetto. In response, Zofia wrote and secretly distributed a leaflet called Protest.

The leaflet condemned the killings and criticised governments, organisations and ordinary people who remained silent. Zofia argued that anyone who witnessed mass murder without objecting shared responsibility for what was happening.

Zofia openly expressed nationalist and antisemitic views. But, she believed that these prejudices could never justify persecution. As a Catholic, she argued that she had a moral duty to oppose the destruction of Poland’s Jewish population.

Zofia helped to create the Provisional Committee to Aid Jews. This later developed into the Council to Aid Jews, better known by its code name, Żegota.

Żegota provided Jewish people with hiding places, forged identity documents, money, food and medical assistance. It was the only state-sponsored organisation in Europe created specifically to rescue Jewish people during the Second World War.

On the 27th of September 1943, Zofia was arrested by a German patrol in Warsaw. The authorities did not initially realise that they had captured an important resistance figure. She was imprisoned at Pawiak before being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

When her true identity was discovered, she was returned to Warsaw for interrogation and sentenced to death. Members of the Polish underground managed to secure her release in July 1944. Soon afterwards, she took part in the Warsaw Uprising.

After the war, Zofia left communist-controlled Poland and lived in Britain for several years. She eventually returned to Poland in 1957 and continued writing until she died on the 9th of April 1968 at the age of 78.

She was later recognised by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations for her contribution to rescuing Jewish people.

Do you think someone’s courageous actions can be remembered while still acknowledging their troubling beliefs?

John the Fearless: The Duke Whose Ruthless Ambition Divided France

John the Fearless: The Duke Whose Ruthless Ambition Divided France

How did a prince celebrated for his courage become one of the most controversial figures of the Hundred Years’ War?

Today I want to find out a little about John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. He was a powerful French prince whose struggle for control of the royal government helped to plunge France into civil war.

John was born on the 28th of May 1371 at the ducal palace in Dijon. His father was Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, while his mother, Margaret, was the heiress to the wealthy counties of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy.

As a grandson of King John II of France, John belonged to the French royal family. In 1385, he married Margaret of Bavaria as part of an arrangement intended to strengthen Burgundian influence in the Low Countries. They went on to have several children, including Philip the Good, who later succeeded his father.

John earned his famous nickname during the disastrous Battle of Nicopolis on the 25th of September 1396. He joined a European crusading army attempting to stop the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.

John fought with great courage, but the crusaders were defeated and he was taken prisoner. He was released the following year after an enormous ransom was paid. His bravery during the campaign earned him the name John the Fearless.

Following his father’s death in 1404, John became Duke of Burgundy. When his mother died in 1405, he also inherited Flanders, Artois and the County of Burgundy, making him one of the most powerful princes in France and the Low Countries.

France was experiencing a serious political crisis. King Charles VI suffered repeated periods of severe mental illness, leaving different members of the royal family competing to govern in his place.

John’s greatest rival was the king’s brother, Louis, Duke of Orléans. Both men attempted to control the royal government, the treasury and the king’s family.

Their rivalry became increasingly bitter. Although they publicly agreed to reconcile, Louis was attacked and killed in Paris on the 23rd of November 1407. John admitted responsibility and attempted to justify the murder by claiming that Louis had behaved like a tyrant.

The killing divided France. Supporters of the murdered duke became known as the Armagnacs, while John’s followers were called the Burgundians. The resulting Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War weakened the country just as King Henry V of England renewed the Hundred Years’ War.

John himself was absent from the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, and the main Burgundian contingent stayed away, although two of his brothers fought for France and were killed.

In May 1418, Burgundian forces captured Paris. The Dauphin Charles, the future Charles VII, escaped and continued leading the Armagnac faction.

Attempts were eventually made to reconcile John and the Dauphin. On the 10th of September 1419, they met on the bridge at Montereau. During the meeting, John was attacked and killed by members of the Dauphin’s party.

His assassination had enormous consequences. John’s son, Philip the Good, responded by forming an alliance with England. This helped the English to strengthen their position in France and it prolonged the conflict for many more years.

John the Fearless was definitely brave on the battlefield, but his ambition and his willingness to use violence helped to divide France during one of the most dangerous periods in its history.

Do you think that John’s nickname reflected his courage, or do you think that it hides the more ruthless side of his character?

 

Jane Haining: The Scottish Missionary Who Refused to Abandon the Jewish Girls in Her Care

Jane Haining: The Scottish Missionary Who Refused to Abandon the Jewish Girls in Her Care

Would you remain with the children in your care, even after being warned that your own life was in danger?

Today I want to find out a little about Jane Haining. She was a Scottish missionary who remained in Hungary during the Holocaust and continued caring for Jewish schoolgirls until she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz.

Jane was born on the 6th of June 1897 near Dunscore in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Her mother died when Jane was only five, and she was raised on the family farm alongside her siblings.

She was an exceptionally talented student, and went to Dumfries Academy. While she was there  she won numerous prizes and became the highest-achieving pupil in her year. She later trained in Glasgow and worked for the thread manufacturer J. and P. Coats.

Jane was deeply involved in her church and taught at Sunday school. After hearing about missionary work in Europe, she decided that she had found the purpose she wanted to dedicate her life to.

In 1932, Jane travelled to Budapest to become matron of a boarding home connected to a school run by the Scottish Mission. The school educated both Jewish and Christian girls, and Jane became responsible for their care.

When the Second World War began, Jane was advised to return to Britain. But, she chose to remain in Budapest, she believed the girls needed her.

Increasing numbers of Jewish refugees arrived in Hungary and Jane worked tirelessly to support them. She searched markets for food, repaired the children’s shoes and attempted to make sure that every girl was treated with dignity and kindness.

Germany occupied Hungary in March 1944. Jewish people were forced to wear yellow stars, and mass deportations soon began.

Jane reportedly wept as she helped sew the stars onto the clothing of the Jewish girls. On the 25th of April 1944, she was arrested by the Gestapo. Among the accusations against her were that she had worked with Jewish people, listened to British radio broadcasts and sent parcels to prisoners of war.

Jane was eventually deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where she was registered as prisoner number 79467. She tragically died there on the 17th of July 1944, aged only forty-seven. The precise circumstances of her death is unclear, although starvation, illness and the appalling camp conditions probably contributed.

In 1997, Jane Haining was recognised by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. She was later named a British Hero of the Holocaust.

Jane had been offered the chance to leave, but she refused to abandon the girls who depended upon her.

Do you think Jane Haining’s courage deserves to be more widely remembered?

Follow Let’s Discover History Together for more stories of courage from the Second World War.

 

Lord Guildford Dudley: The Lesser-Known Husband of Lady Jane Grey

Lord Guildford Dudley: The Lesser-Known Husband of Lady Jane Grey

I want to introduce you to a lesser-known Tudor figure whose life became tragically entangled in the struggle for the English throne.

Lord Guildford Dudley is usually remembered only as the husband of Lady Jane Grey, the young woman who occupied the throne for just nine days. But Guildford was also a teenager caught inside the dangerous political ambitions of his family.

Guildford was born in around 1535. He was one of the younger sons of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and his wife, Jane Guildford.

The Dudleys were one of the most powerful families in England. During the reign of the young Edward VI, Guildford’s father became the leading figure in the royal government and effectively controlled much of the country’s administration.

Guildford and his siblings were raised in a Protestant household and one contemporary chronicler described him as a handsome, virtuous and impressive young gentleman.

In the spring of 1553, Guildford became engaged to Lady Jane Grey. Jane was a great-granddaughter of Henry VII and therefore had a place in the royal line of succession.

Guildford and Jane were married at Durham Place in London on the 25th of May 1553. Their wedding formed part of a magnificent celebration involving three marriages, jousting, games and elaborate entertainments.

However, their marriage was probably arranged for political reasons rather than affection.

King Edward VI was seriously ill. Determined to prevent his Catholic half-sister Mary from inheriting the throne, Edward named Jane as his successor.

After Edward died on the 6th of July 1553, Jane was proclaimed queen. On the 10th of July, Jane and Guildford entered the Tower of London, which was then used as a royal residence before a coronation.

Guildford reportedly wanted to be declared king. According to Jane’s later account, she was prepared to make him Duke of Clarence but would not agree to give him the title of king without the approval of Parliament.

Their brief period of power soon collapsed.

Mary Tudor gathered considerable support, and members of the Privy Council abandoned Jane’s cause. On the 19th of July, Mary was proclaimed queen in London.

Jane and Guildford were no longer treated as a royal couple. Instead, they became prisoners inside the Tower.

Guildford was held in the Bell Tower, while Jane was confined separately. They were tried for high treason on the 13th of November 1553 and found guilty.

At first, Queen Mary appears to have been willing to spare their lives. Jane and Guildford were young, and many believed they had been used as pawns by their ambitious families.

However, the situation changed in early 1554 when Thomas Wyatt led a rebellion against Mary’s planned marriage to Philip of Spain. Jane’s father joined the rebellion, making Jane and Guildford possible symbols for future opposition.

The government decided that they could no longer be allowed to live.

Guildford asked to see Jane one final time on the day before their executions. Jane reportedly refused because she believed that meeting again would only increase their pain.

On the morning of the 12th of February 1554, Guildford was taken from the Tower to Tower Hill.

He made a short speech before his execution, he asked the people watching to pray for him. He was only around eighteen or nineteen years old.

His body was carried back into the Tower. According to a later account, Jane saw the cart from her window and cried out:

“Oh, Guildford, Guildford!”

Jane was executed within the hour. They were buried together inside the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula.

Guildford Dudley was not simply the ambitious husband who wanted to become king. He was also a very young man born into a powerful family and placed at the centre of a political struggle that he may never have fully controlled.

Do you think Guildford and Jane were willing participants in the attempt to take the throne, or were they mainly victims of their families’ ambitions?

Follow Let’s Discover History Together for more remarkable and lesser-known stories from the Tudor period.

 

Gustav Schröder: The German Captain Who Refused to Abandon More Than 900 Jewish Refugees

Gustav Schröder: The German Captain Who Refused to Abandon More Than 900 Jewish Refugees

What would you have done if hundreds of lives depended upon your refusal to follow orders?

Today I want to find out a little about Gustav Schröder. He was a German sea captain who became known for his determined efforts to protect 937 Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. Louis in 1939.

Gustav was born on the 27th of September 1885 in Hadersleben, then part of the German Empire. He began working at sea when he was sixteen and spent many years serving aboard both sailing ships and passenger vessels.

By 1939, Gustav was captain of the MS St. Louis. In May that year, the ship left Hamburg carrying Jewish passengers who were attempting to escape increasing persecution in Germany. Most hoped to get refuge in Cuba.

During the voyage, Gustav insisted that his passengers should be treated with dignity. He allowed religious services to take place and instructed his crew to behave respectfully, despite knowing that officials might disapprove.

When the ship arrived in Havana, however, the Cuban authorities refused to allow most of the passengers to disembark. Attempts to gain permission to land in the United States and Canada were also unsuccessful.

Gustav understood the danger his passengers faced if they were returned directly to Germany. He continued searching for somewhere that would accept them and reportedly considered desperate alternatives rather than surrendering them to the authorities.

Eventually, Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands agreed to receive the refugees. Although many reached safety, others were later trapped when German forces occupied much of Western Europe.

After the outbreak of the Second World War, Gustav was eventually assigned an administrative position and never went to sea again. Following the war, surviving passengers supposedly spoke in his defence after the war.

He died in Hamburg on the 10th of January 1959. In 1993, Yad Vashem recognised Gustav Schröder as Righteous Among the Nations for his efforts to protect his Jewish passengers.

 

Charles Blondin: The Victorian Daredevil Who Crossed Niagara Falls on a Tightrope

Charles Blondin: The Victorian Daredevil Who Crossed Niagara Falls on a Tightrope

Would you have trusted a man to carry you across the Niagara Gorge on his back, with nothing beneath you except the rushing water?

Today I want to find out a little about Charles Blondin. He was a French acrobat and tightrope walker whose extraordinary performances made him one of the most famous entertainers of the Victorian period.

Charles was born Jean-François Gravelet on the 28th of February 1824 in Hesdin, northern France. He began training as an acrobat when he was only five years old and soon appeared before audiences under the nickname the The Little Wonder and Boy Wonder.

When he got older, he performed under several stage names, eventually becoming best known as Blondin or the Great Blondin. His balance, confidence and flair for creating dramatic spectacles quickly attracted attention.

In the 1850s, Blondin travelled to the United States, where he performed with an acrobatic troupe and became involved with a circus. However, the achievement that transformed him into an international celebrity took place on the 30th of June 1859.

Blondin walked across the Niagara Gorge on a rope approximately 1,100 feet long, suspended around 160 feet above the water. Thousands of spectators gathered to watch as he completed the dangerous crossing.

One successful attempt was not enough for Blondin. He crossed the gorge several more times while introducing increasingly daring variations. He walked blindfolded, travelled inside a sack, pushed a wheelbarrow and crossed while wearing stilts. On another occasion, he carried his manager, Harry Colcord, on his back.

Perhaps his most unusual performance involved stopping halfway across the rope to cook and eat an omelette.

Blondin later performed throughout Britain and Ireland. In 1860, tragedy occurred during an appearance in Dublin when the supporting rope broke and part of the scaffolding collapsed. Blondin escaped injury, but two workers were killed. An initial investigation did not place responsibility on Blondin, although questions were raised about the rope and the organisation of the event.

He continued performing at venues including the Crystal Palace in London, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and Edgbaston Reservoir in Birmingham. He even crossed a high rope while riding a specially constructed bicycle.

Blondin continued performing into old age. In 1896, when he was 71, he crossed Waterloo Lake in Roundhay Park, Leeds, several times. This became his final public performance.

Charles Blondin died at his home in Ealing, London, on the 22nd of February 1897, shortly before his 73rd birthday. He was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery.

His name became so closely associated with tightrope walking that other performers were frequently described as “Blondins”.

Would you have been brave enough to watch Blondin cross Niagara Gorge, or would you have found it too terrifying?