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?
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