Chapter XXXIV: Appendix (2)

In laying out a plan of drainage and sewerage when a river or brook passes through or alongside of a town, it will naturally become the main drain of the place, and be the normal line from whence the second-class sewers would diverge; but it not unfrequently happens when such a brook is small and becomes the _cloaca maxima_, that, being left open, and insufficiently supplied with water in the summer season, it constitutes, instead of a benefit, a serious nuisance to the inhabitants; instances of this kind may be observed at Edinburgh, Birmingham, Coventry, Camberwell, &c., &c. It also happens at many towns that a stream passing through or by them is dammed up to turn a mill just above or below the town, or even in the middle of it, by which means the current useful to clear away the filth is diverted, the water in the bed of the stream into which sewers are discharged is left stagnant, while the vicinity of the town is rendered wet and unwholesome from the pent up water.

At Birmingham the Rea Brook is dammed up in its course through the town to supply a mill. In the very excellent sanitary report of the town by Dr. Hodgson and other medical gentlemen, it is stated that “the river Rea may be considered the cloaca or main sewer of the town, but that its condition is very bad;” the report also states, “that the stream is sluggish, and the quantity of water which it supplies is not sufficient to dilute and wash away the refuse which it receives in passing through the town, and that in hot weather it is consequently very offensive; and in some situations in these seasons is covered with a thick scum of decomposing matters; and this filthy condition of the river near the railway stations is a subject of constant and merited animadversions, and that it requires especial attention lest it should become a source of disease, &c.”

The _cloaca maxima_ of Birmingham differs from that of ancient Rome; that whereas in the latter art was employed to effect what nature had left undone, here art has been employed to obstruct the useful course of nature. I quite agree with the sanitary report as to the present noxious state of the brook; and even those who travel on the railway may at times be very sensible of the effluvia when crossing it.

I am inclined to differ from the sanitary report as to insufficiency of the water of the Rea for cleansing its own bed; but that report has not adverted to the fact of the abstraction and diversion of the water of the Rea from its natural bed to turn a mill, a fact which will amply account for the deficiency and sluggishness of the current in the very places where the contrary condition is most wanted.

From my inspection of the locality, I am inclined to believe that the descent of the Rea and its quantity of water in passing through the town of Birmingham is sufficient under good arrangements for the efficient and wholesome sewerage of its bed.

If we take a distance of half a mile above the weir and half a mile below it, that is, nearly from Morley-street to Lawley-street, I consider I shall be justified in saying there is a descent of about 14 feet, for I find a slight weir in Floodgate-street; at the dam itself the fall is about eight feet, and from thence for a considerable distance downwards the fall is considerable.

Above the weir the stream for a short distance is sluggish from want of declivity, and the water being pent up, keeps the houses there wet or damp, while below the weir the bed of the Rea being left nearly dry, the filth from the sewers which discharge there must stagnate, while at the same time the water of the Rea passing through the mill-race with a good body and current, applies to no act of cleansing.

The mill-pool is extensive but shallow, and there the filth from above accumulates. When the pool is filled with water it is worked off by the mill, but the gratings prevent dead dogs and such like matter from passing, and are there left to fester at low water.

The remedy is as easy as the evil is great; all obstruction being removed from the course of the brook and the water restored to its original bed, the object would be effected; as to the value of the mill-power which would thus be subverted, it cannot be a matter of much amount in a place where coals and steam-engines are so cheap, and where the constant and regular work of the mill must be an object of some importance.

In applying a remedy to the great evil under notice, the engineer should not be content by merely restoring matters to their original and natural state, but in so populous a town should apply all the aid which art can bestow to assist natural circumstances. The bed of the Rea should be formed with an uniform descent through the town and for some distance below it, by dredging in some places and filling it in others with coarse gravel or broken stones; or, better still, if funds will afford it, by forming an inverted arch of stone or blue bricks to give full effect to the scour of the stream; further, the engineer would render the course of the brook through the town as straight as circumstances would permit by cutting off loops and sinuosities. In this manner, and by reserving the whole body of the water of the Rea for cleansing its own bed, I have no doubt that this main sewer of Birmingham would become as conspicuous for its wholesome and efficient action as it is now for the contrary.

About a mile above the town of Birmingham, there is another mill which I am disposed to think would act rather beneficially than otherwise, in removing the filth from the bed of the brook in its course through the town; for in summer weather when the stream is scanty, by pooling it up and letting the water down with force at intervals, the effect is much increased. Whether the stream of the Rea be so deficient in summer as to require this process, I would not now give a positive opinion, but there are many somewhat analogous cases where the stream in summer is not sufficient and where the pooling up and flushing off at intervals could not but prove of great utility; and if I have now brought the case of Birmingham into considerable detail, it is owing to the circumstance of its exemplifying certain conditions that are common to a great number of towns, and which, in a sanitary point of view, and more especially in regard to the poorer classes of the community, are the most urgent for remedy of any that have fallen under my observation.

In the town of Haddington, a mill-dam crosses the river Tyne in its passage through the place and into the mill-pool; the main sewer is discharged with a diminished and sluggish descent; and on occasion of floods in the river, the water passes up the sewers and occasionally lays the lowest part of the town under water. It would not be difficult to direct the main sewer into the bed of the river below the dam or weir, and by the additional declivity give some current to the water of the sewer, which from the pending up of the river at its present outlet has rendered it almost stagnant, so much so, that in hot weather, and where it is not covered over, the exhalations are very offensive; but was the sewer improved by the alteration mentioned, still the pooling up of the river for the mill keeps the lower part of the town damp, and even subjects it to partial inundations.

One of the medical officers reports, that when “fever has been at any time prevalent in the town, it has been most so in a portion of it called the Nungate,[50] lying close by the river, when during the summer and autumn it is occasionally almost stagnant, and where there is a considerable decomposition of vegetable matter.”

Another medical gentleman, speaking of the main sewer, says, “this small burn is a receptacle of the privies and refuse of vegetable matters from the houses near which it passes; and in those parts where it is uncovered, it forms an excellent index of the weather; previous to rain the smell is intolerable.”

The same gentleman proposes as a remedy that another small burn, having a parallel course at a short distance, should be turned into the sewer to aid the sewerage. From my knowledge of the locality, the recommendation, I should say, is judicious, but in this manner, though the supply of water would be increased, the declivity or rather want of declivity of the sewer would remain the same, and could only be improved by removing the mill-dam, or directing the sewer into the bed of the river below it, as already mentioned. Unquestionably from the pending up of the river, the lower part of the town is at present very ill drained, and it is somewhat remarkable that it was the first site in Scotland visited by the Asiatic cholera.

In reference to the two cases cited and to others of a similar nature, it should be remarked, that the vicinities of the nuisances are chiefly inhabited by the poorer classes, and who from want of influence in their own parts are the more necessarily thrown under the protection of state regulations.

The sewers of a city or town may be conveniently divided into four classes:—First, the main drain or sewer, and this, whether natural or artificial, being fixed, becomes the basis of the system, and upon it the second drains or district class will be directed: these again will receive the third class or street drains; and lastly, the house or fourth class drains, will be discharged into the street drains. In small towns, only the third and fourth class drains will be required; in large towns, three classes of drains may be necessary; and in great cities, all the four classes will be required.

PLAN OF SEWERAGE

STREET SEWERS (_o._ _p._)
]

DISTRICT SEWERS (_c._ _d._)
]

MAIN SEWERS (A. B.)
]

_Fig. 1._
]

_Fig. 2._
]

With respect to the form of the drains, when bricks are used as building materials, the bottoms of the drains will be best formed of inverted arches of blue bricks, as forming a cheap, hard, and durable surface, and giving every facility from the form, for the scouring force of the water to remove the filth brought into the drain; but whether the curve of the bottom shall be a semicircle or a segment will, I apprehend, depend on the size of the drain. For very small drains a circular form would be the cheapest and best; the next size would be more advantageously constructed of an oval or egg shape, but still of bricks. Drains of a still larger size, viz. the second class, may be conveniently made either of brick or stone, arched and counter-arched at top and bottom with battered sides, either straight or curved; the counter-arches or curved bottoms will conveniently become flatter as the drains increase in capacity to afford greater room for the accumulated water to pass without rising and flooding back into the feeders. The first and second-class sewers must be deep seated to receive their respective tributaries or feeders, with some overfall; and though a sufficient width for large drains may generally be procured, it is difficult in many cases to command enough of depth, another circumstance that can best be obviated by flattening the arches both at top and bottom; but in large drains, where there is a body of water, the scourage will be sufficient, without resorting to deeply curved bottoms.

When bricks abound as a building material, they are particularly convenient for the construction of deep sewers and drains, from the facility of handling in confined spaces; but it is important their quality should be of the best, since if they scale and decay, great expense must be involved in the repair of the drain. The Tipton, or blue brick, is the best for the facework of drains.

In parts of the country where stone abounds, bricks are often little known, and the resources of the district must be made use of; where the blue lias limestone occurs, I have found it a cheap and excellent material for forming culverts and drains of all sizes; and it was used largely for that purpose on the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway.

Annexed is a sketch of the sections of drains varying in form according to their size. The batter which I found most useful and convenient for wall-sided drains was 1 in 9, either curved or straight; the first is the best form in theory, but in small works I found the bricklayers’ and masons’ work more accurately to the straight batter; and the last is, from its simplicity, better adapted to receive any sluices or flush-gates that may be necessary.

Annexed is also a sketch to show the distribution of drains in a town supposed to be built on a regular plan, with a pretty uniform descent towards an axis, which constitutes the site of the main drain; each class of drains consisting of several sizes, it would be most useful as well as economical that the drain of a particular class (if large) should commence with the smaller size, and discharge or terminate with the greater size, a plan that would aid the sewerage of the water.

In a system of drainage, it is necessary to consider that the greater the body of water, or in other words, the class of the drain, the less declivity is sufficient; and the converse, the less the body of water, or class of drain, the greater declivity is required; in the first case, the hydraulic depth compensates for the want of declivity; and in the second case, the declivity compensates for the want of hydraulic depth; the multiplication of these qualities being a function of the velocity or force of the current, due attention to the above is important in economizing or turning to the best account the declivity for the drainage of a large town.

Having arranged the system of sewerage for a town, the next object will be to render it as extensively useful as practice will admit of; and from the experiments and practice of Mr. Roe, the surveyor to the Holborn and Finsbury Commission of Sewers, we are warranted in the belief that a good system of sewerage, aided by a sufficient supply of water, will, in most localities, be sufficient to remove all the dirt which arises in the streets, without the necessity of cartage, and also all the filth of private dwellings which is at present led through drains or pipes, or which by the aid of water may be practised more extensively in future.

We have first to consider the conveyance or discharge of the street dirt into the main sewers, and the discontinuance of the present expense, and annoyance of using carts for that purpose, at least with some few exceptions.

It is pretty obvious, that if the mud of London, like water, could be made to flow through the drains much trouble and expense of cartage would be saved; and it does happen that the street-dirt of London is so diffusible with water, that with a little arrangement such a mode of cleansing maybe followed; indeed it is highly probable that at present more than one-half of the whole mud is carried off by the rains in that manner.

The mud of London, and other great towns in England, may be assumed in wet weather[51] to arise, in three-fourths of its amount, from the grinding or abrasion of the paving-stones, the remaining one-fourth part consisting of soot, shop-sweepings, and cattle dung.

The dirt arising from the detritus of the stones may be obviated in two ways; 1st, by substituting for the green-stone forming the carriage-way, quartz-rock, or quartzose stones. The green-stones contain hornblende and felspar, which grind, like all argillaceous stones, into fine mud or powder mixable in water, whereas quartz rock retains when ground the form of clean sand, neither soiling nor capable of forming mud in itself. The Lickey Hills in Worcestershire are composed of quartz rock, and the roads in their vicinity show its excellence as a material for road making. The quartz rock, however, of the island of Jura is much purer, and that island contains an inexhaustible supply already broken by nature into sizes nearly fit for laying on the roads; and Small’s Bay in the island of Jura would form a convenient loading place, and by means of a jetty and tram-way vessels might be laden at a small expense, and much of the country supplied with the best of all materials for road-making. The substance of the stone is hard and durable, and consequently suffering little by abrasion; and it would be well worth while to try the experiment of Macadamizing one of the leading streets of London with this material, as the means of forming a good road, and at the same avoiding the creating of a great quantity of street dirt.

The other mode of avoiding the formation of mud is the substitution of wooden pavements; of the success of these I have little doubt, though for the present many failures have occurred, either from The foundation not having been truly and firmly laid, or from the blocks of wood not being massive enough. The greatest objection to wood pavements at present is the slipping of the horses, but this I believe might be obviated.

The question, however, at present is to get rid of the street dirt, such as it is; and for that purpose I apprehend it would only be necessary in wet weather during rains that the street-cleaner should sweep the dirt into the kennels, and aid the water by stirring the mud, to carry off the material in a state of diffusion; in dry weather, the opening of pipes with hose attached would serve the same purpose as the rains, and at the same time aid the sewerage at the time most required. After a short but heavy fall of rain, the cleansing effect of the water is fully perceived: and if any means could be devised of saving the rain-water that falls on the houses and in the streets, so as to apply it in considerable quantities at intervals, it is probable that the rain-water would be amply sufficient for all the purposes in question.

I have heard of the plan pursued by the West Middlesex Water Company for cleansing their reservoir at Kensington, at little expense, by diffusing the muddy deposit in water, and allowing it to run off in pipes.

In the city of Guanaxuato in Mexico, a similar mode of cleansing has been long practised; a splendid tank of ample dimensions contains the water used by the inhabitants; the tank is supplied by mountain torrents, which bring down a considerable quantity of mud or silt, and which makes a deposit in the bottom of the tank, which is formed by a fine dam of masonry crossing a narrow valley, and provided with sluices. The rainy season commences in the latter part of June, and a short time previous the ceremony of emptying and cleansing the tank is gone through; a kind of fair and holiday is held on the ground, to which most of the inhabitants resort; the sluices are opened, and as the water recedes, the watermen, boys, and all those who relish the fun, get into the tank and keep stirring up the silt with sticks and spades, &c., and in this manner the mud is annually carried off by the remaining water of the past season, a subsidiary tank serving for use until the principal one is replenished.

By some sort of a similar process it is alleged that much of the mud-banks of the Thames above the bridges have been removed, viz., by the action of the paddle-wheels of the numerous steam-boats running there. Some of the effect observed must be owing to the greater scour of the tides since the removal of Old London-bridge, though some part may also be due to the steam-boats.

For the purpose of giving more aid to the surface-water in cleansing the streets, and at the same time for keeping the footways and houses drier and more free from mud, I should propose (at least as an experiment) a different structure of the carriage-way, viz., to make it incline to a centre kennel, instead of to two side ones. At present, in many places, the centre of the carriage-way is elevated above the level of the shop doors, and at the same time we often find the footway but three inches higher than the kennel; and it is pretty obvious from this arrangement, in dry weather, the dust will blow from the more elevated carriage-way on to the footways, and into the shops and areas; and in wet weather the water and mud being chiefly accumulated in the side gutters, the carriage wheels and horses’ feet will distribute it plentifully on the footways, and not unfrequently on the passengers, and all tending to keep the houses damp and dirty, whereas it is obvious that, was the descent constant from the houses[52] on either side to the centre of the street, these evils would be avoided, and it will be no less evident that all the surface-water flowing to one common channel would possess more force and convenience for running the street dirt into the sewers. I am inclined to believe that the carriage-ways are getting gradually elevated above their proper level, from the contractors for paving not excavating deep enough for the foundation of the pavement.

Annexed is a sketch, showing in juxta-position the form of the street-ways as at present, and as proposed to be; the street is supposed to be a shop-street, 90 feet wide, having two areas of three feet each, two footways of 12 feet, and 60 feet of carriage-way; on the section of the proposed plan a fall of six inches, or 1 in 30, is given from the shop door to the edge of the pavement; there is then a descent by two steps of six inches each to the carriage way; and lastly, a descent of 1 in 30, or of one foot to the kennel in the centre of the carriage-way. The kennel may either be open or covered; if the latter, it must have many gratings. In the city of Mexico the kennel is chiefly in the centre of the street, and covered by large flat stones.

On the proposed plan, if we suppose a step from the foot pavement to the floor of the shop or house, the latter will be elevated about 3 feet above the gutter, whereas at present we often find it not more than six inches, and it will readily be admitted that such a difference in the disposal of the surface-water cannot but keep the houses much drier and more cleanly.

By having one gutter in the centre of the streets instead of two, (one at each side,) we remove two sluggish and inefficient kennels, which are the source of damp to the pavement and to the houses, and we create one which is at a distance and doubly effective.

The subject of street pavements having been introduced as the means of surface-drainage, it may be remarked how difficult it must ever be to keep them in good order so long as they are liable to be broken up whenever water or gas-pipes require altering or repairing, besides the extreme annoyance occasioned during that operation; and though it may not be possible to obviate the inconvenience in all cases, yet I conceive the evil may be reduced to very narrow limits by resorting to system, and I would suggest that under the foot pavements passages should be formed, lined with brick-work or masonry, as a common receptacle for all the water and gas-pipes, having the flagging over the passage so laid as to be easily lifted in case of need, and being provided at intervals with side entrances for inspection and all such repairs as could be effected without raising the flagging. The position of the gas-pipes under the foot-pavement would be convenient for the street and shop lights, and the water-pipes would be then equally so for the use of the houses. But in respect to the sewer of the street, I should propose to place it near the centre of the carriage-way, as more distant from the dwellings, but as equally convenient to both sides of the street. (See the section for new form of carriage-way.)

Having noticed the subject of diminishing the amount of street mud, and of conveying the same into the sewers, as well as that portion of the house filth which it may be practicable to discharge into them, we have next to notice the mode of further disposing of the matter thus lodged in the sewers. The practice has hitherto been (in a great degree) to accumulate the filth in cesspools, and at intervals of five to ten years to open the sewers by breaking into them, or to get access by man-holes left for that purpose, and then drawing out the semiliquid contents of the cesspool by means of a windlass and buckets; but in the Finsbury division the surveyor, Mr. Roe, has had the merit of introducing a very superior, less expensive, and less offensive mode of operation. Finding that the surface-water did not generally enter the sewer in sufficient quantity and with sufficient force to carry off the more solid contents, he contrived, by sluices or flush-gates, to dam up the water to a certain height, and then, by opening the same, to obtain a force of water sufficient for the purpose; and the working of this new plan is said to be highly satisfactory, the filth being prevented accumulating in the sewers, and, as a necessary consequence, then choaking their feeders, the house drains; and in this manner also the filth is removed at less expense, and without any annoyance and noxious effluvia which attend the old practice.

Mr. Roe has adopted also side entrances to the sewers instead of man-holes, for the inspection and repair of the flushing apparatus. The chief expense beyond the first cost of Mr. Roe’s plan is the attendance of a person to open the flush-gates; but it is probable that some contrivance may be found by which the pent-up water on reaching a certain point may be able to open its own gate. It has, however, occurred to me, in respect to this mode of flushing off the filth, that, instead of damming up the water in the sewers, and forming them into reservoirs, the purpose might be more easily and more effectually performed by accumulating the surface-water from the gutters into reservoirs before entering the street or district drains; a greater head, or force of water, might thus be obtained, while the sewers themselves would always be open and free from the obstruction of the sluices and pent-up water.

In respect to the final deposit of the filth of London and other great towns, it does seem a pity that so much valuable manure should be lost to the land, and be discharged into rivers to their contamination and obstruction, if any practicable and innocuous plan can be hit upon to avoid the alternative.

One plan has been suggested of receiving the contents of the sewers into pits, and then by means of steam-power and a sufficient supply of water, forcing the matter of the sewers in a diluted state through iron pipes into the country, and then applying it to irrigate the land in the same liquid state. It would require much calculation to form an accurate estimate of the cost and profit of such an undertaking; but there can be no doubt if the matter was so applied it would prove exceedingly valuable in enriching the land to which it was applied, as we may judge from what has occurred in the vicinity of Edinburgh from a similar kind of irrigation.

At Edinburgh, however, the liquid manure being conveyed from the town for a distance in open ditches or sewers exposed to the sun and atmosphere, it undergoes such a fœtid decomposition as to render the operation no common nuisance to the public. But such effects would not occur (at least, to the same extent) if the matter was conveyed in close pipes with a plentiful effusion of water; and it is known that animal carcases, when kept constantly exposed to fresh supplies of water, do not suffer corrupt decomposition, but are changed into a fatty matter. It seems necessary also that a certain degree of heat and exposure of surface should be present to originate and promote fœtid decomposition, as it is well known that in the pits in Paris, where so many dead bodies were thrown, the result was not a fœtid decomposition, but a change of the animal matter into adipocire, a comparatively inoffensive substance; we may therefore expect that the discharge of the contents of the sewers in pipes, excluded (as they would be) from heat, and copiously charged with water, would be comparatively free from noxious exhalations.

Another plan of reserving the contents of sewers for the purpose of manure would be to continue the sewers to some distance from the town, and then to discharge them into a series of covered catch-pits, allowing the water to filter off after depositing the solid particles; when the first series of pits were deemed sufficiently charged, the sewers might then be discharged into a subsidiary series, until the matter in the first had become sufficiently consistent for cartage. Upon the first plan of proceeding, the liquid manure could only be applied to land quite near at hand, and fit for irrigation; on the second plan the manure might be conveyed to a distance and applied to arable land.

It will be evident the great importance of applying such quantities of manure as the sewers supply to useful purposes, but it is no less evident that no system can be introduced to effect the object until preceded by satisfactory experiments of cost, profit, and efficiency. Some localities might offer facilities for one mode of action, and some for another; and it is much to be desired that parties may be induced to make experiments on both plans; and it is to be noted that though the expense of raising the liquid manure from pits or tanks would be necessary in some cases, yet in many situations no such operation would be necessary.

On the subject of purifying the air of sewers, and of preventing the escape of foul air by any crevices or chinks, I have heard of the ingenious contrivance of erecting a tall chimney and connecting it by a pipe with the crown of a sewer, for the purpose of creating such a draft up the chimney as would occasion an indraft at any leak that might occur in the ramified mass of drains of the district to which the chimney belonged. It appears to me that there are some objections to this plan; but not being acquainted with all the details, I shall avoid entering into any controversy on the subject, further than stating that I should rather propose an opposite process for purifying the air of sewers. I would recommend that they should be kept excluded as much as possible from external heat and ascending columns of air; but at the same time I would endeavour by all means to send down as copious a flow of water as practicable; and in London, though the Thames water may not be proper for domestic purposes, it would be sufficiently pure for watering the streets and cleansing the drains; and the supply being inexhaustible, its application would only be limited by the cost, of steam power and iron pipes.

In conclusion, I have to express my obligations to yourself for the useful hints you have afforded me on several of the subjects above treated of, and to say I shall be happy if any of the observations I have submitted should prove conducive to the ends in view.

I remain, dear Sir,
Yours truly,
JAMES VETCH.

_Edwin Chadwick, Esq.,
&c. &c. &c._
London, 1st March, 1842.

6.—_Evidence of_ GEORGE GUTCH, Esq., _District Surveyor, on Shifting and Building of Inferior Tenements in the Suburbs to avoid the Provisions of the Metropolis Building Act_.

Is there any distinction in the character of the buildings built out of the limits of the Metropolitan Building Act, or out of the limits of your own district as surveyor?—Yes; there is a less expensive description of buildings built out of these limits. In the adjoining parish of Kensington, there are tenements run up four stories in height with only a nine-inch wall from the top to the bottom, whereas in any parish under the Building Act the walls of the same description of houses would be required to be 18 inches thick in the basement and 14 inches upwards: this, however, is not a sized house for the occupation of the poorer classes. At the Potteries, Notting Dale, Kensington, however, there is a nest of houses huddled together without party-walls and without drainage; many of them are built of wood and four-inch work, and of such materials as would not be permitted where the Building Act is in force. This is with reference to houses which are contiguous to each other.

Have you not seen instances where sewers are made and drains in action where the state of the premises is nevertheless dangerous?—Yes; only recently the parochial officers of Paddington inspected the workhouses and buildings belonging to the Kensington union, when we found the drains formed but not trapped, and the inmates exposed to the foul air from the drains themselves. I have read Mr. Oldfield’s statement, and I think it very true and very important.

7.—_Estimate by_ MR. HOWELL, _of the Cost of Structural Arrangements of
Sewerage, Drainage, Water-tank, and means of House Cleansing for
Labourers’ Tenements in the Metropolis_.

FEET £ _s._ _d._

55. Drain and digging, with pantile bottom, three
courses high, arched over and cemented 4 2 6
10. Small drain from water pipe 0 10 0
46. Sup. slate slab cistern, 4 ft. by 3 ft. 9, and 2
ft. deep, holding 150 gallons 4 12 0
62. Three-quarter pipe to serve cistern, including
joints and fixing 3 2 0
12. Three-quarter pipe to serve yard, including joints
and fixing 0 12 0
Two three-quarter cocks—10_s._; one cock-ball and
boss—8_s._ 0 18 0
7. Inch standing and under waste 0 10 6
1¾ washer and waste 0 2 6
Pan closet, with basin, &c., complete 3 10 0
Strong D. trap—20_s._, service box—10_s._ 6_d._ 1 10 6
Cover to cistern 0 15 0
—— —— —
20 5 0
Deduct 7½ per cent. if done at contract prices. 1 10 0
—— —— —
18 15 0

From the above estimate the following items should be deducted, as
appertaining to the present objectionable system:—

£. _s._ _d._
Cesspool 1 0 0
Root of privy and ceiling 0 15 0
Drain, say 65 ft. 3 5 0
Water butt and stand 1 5 0
Service pipe, 40 ft. 2 0 0
Cock and ball—8_s._; waste pipe—7_s._ 0 15 0
—— —— —
9 0 0
Less 7½ per cent. 0 13 6
—— —— —
8 6 6
—— —— —
13 8 6
—— —— —

8.—_Description or Specification of_ MR. LOUDON’s _Agriculturist Model
Cottage_.

The plan and elevation which I have given are intended for an Agricultural labourer in the north of England or in Scotland, where it is customary to have the sleeping room on the ground floor. The walls are supposed to be 18 inches thick, and the roof thatched, as being the warmest covering in a cold bleak country. The front entrance is by a porch, which contains a step-ladder to the garrets, which, being lighted by windows in the gable ends, may be used as sleeping places for grown-up children, while the younger children may sleep below in the same room with their parents. _a_, is the kitchen; _b_, the sleeping room; _c_, the back kitchen; _d_, the pantry; _e_, the dairy, if the occupant should have a cow, which is generally the case with agricultural labourers in Scotland; and _f_, a place for fuel, for poultry, or for a furnace to heat a flue passing under the floors of the two rooms in the direction of the dotted line _g_, the smoke escaping by the upright flue _h_. The highest point of the sleeping-room floor is at _g_, and of the kitchen floor at _i_; the highest point of the pantry floor is at _d_, and of the dairy floor at _e_, and from these four points the floors gradually slope at the rate of 1 inch to 7 feet to the sill of the back kitchen door at _m_, so that no water can stand in any part of these floors; and hence, when they are being washed with a mop in the direction of the slope the water will readily flow towards the back door.

A place for wood or other fuel, or for a pig or rabbits, according to the taste or circumstances of the occupant, is shown at _n_; a privy at _o_; a tank for liquid manure, communicating with the privy, at _p_; and a pit for ashes and solid manure at _q_. Both these pits may have movable roofs.

The surface of the yard slopes from the entrance door _r_, to the liquid manure tank _s_. The back kitchen is entered by one step; the terrace in front at _t_ is entered by three steps, and the door of the porch by a half-step.

The garden is only partially shown, the portion omitted being a parallelogram of sufficient length to constitute the contents of the whole ground allotted to the cottage, one-sixth of an acre. It is surrounded by a hedge, which may be shown architecturally to give an appearance of design and taste on the part of the occupant.

The slope of the terrace may be covered with grass or flowers, strawberries or ivy. The narrow border next the hedge may be planted with flowers, and the larger compartments in front of the porch with gooseberries, raspberries, currants, and dwarf apples. The culinary crops are supposed to be grown in the back compartment, only a portion of which is shown at _w_.

_A B_, is the elevation of the front hedge.

_C D_, a part of the side hedge.

_E F_, a section on the dotted line _E F_, to a double scale.

_G H_, a section on the dotted line _G H_.

The upper part of the drawing is an isometrical view.

9.—_Statement of the Requisites of Cottage Architecture, by_ J. C.
LOUDON, _Esq._

The _essential requisites_ of a comfortable labourer’s cottage may be thus summed up:—

1. The cottage should be placed alongside a public road, as being more cheerful than a solitary situation; and in order that the cottager may enjoy the applause of the public when he has his garden in good order and keeping.

2. The cottage should be so placed that the sun may shine on every side of it every day throughout the year, when he is visible. For this reason, the front of the cottage can only be parallel to the public road in the case of roads in the direction of north-east, south-west, north-west, and south-east; in all other cases the front must be placed obliquely to the road, which, as we have previously shown, is greatly preferable to having the front parallel to the road.

3. Every cottage ought to have the floor elevated, that it may be dry; the walls double or hollow, or battened, or not less than eighteen inches thick, that they may retain heat; with a course of slate or flagstone, or tiles bedded in cement, six inches above the surface, to prevent the rising of damp; the roof thick, or double, for the sake of warmth; and projecting eighteen inches or two feet at the eaves, in order to keep the walls dry, and to check the radiation of heat from their exterior surface.

4. In general, every cottage ought to be two stories high, so that the sleeping-rooms may not be on the ground floor; and the ground floor ought to be from six inches to one foot above the outer surface.

5. The minimum of accommodation ought to be a kitchen or living-room, a back kitchen or wash-house, and a pantry, on the ground floor, with three bed-rooms over; or two rooms and a wash-house on the ground floor, and two bed-rooms over.

6. Every cottage, including its garden, yard, &c., ought to occupy not less than one-sixth of an acre; and the garden ought to surround the cottage, or at all events to extend both before and behind. In general, there ought to be a front garden and a back yard, the latter being entered from the back kitchen, and containing a privy, liquid-manure tank, place for dust and ashes, and place for fuel.

7. If practicable, every cottage ought to stand singly, and surrounded by its garden, or, at all events, not more than two cottages ought to be joined together. Among other important arguments in favour of this arrangement, it may be mentioned, that it is the only one by which the sun can shine every day on every side of the cottage. When cottages are joined together in a row, unless that row is in a diagonal direction, with reference to a south and north line, the sun will shine chiefly on one side. By having cottages singly or in pairs, they may always be placed along any road in such a manner that the sun may shine on every side of them, provided the point be given up of having the front parallel to the road; a point which, in our opinion, ought not for a moment to be put in competition with the advantages of an equal diffusion of sunshine.

8. Every cottage ought to have an entrance-porch for containing the labourer’s tools, and into which, if possible, the stairs ought to open, in order that the bed-rooms may be communicated with without passing through the front or back kitchen. This, in the case of sickness, is very desirable, and also in the case of deaths, as the remains may be carried down stairs while the family are in the front room.

9. The door to the front kitchen or best room should open from the porch, and not from the back kitchen, which, as it contains the cooking utensils and washing apparatus, can never be fit for being passed through by a stranger, or even the master of the family, where proper regard is had by the mistress to cleanliness and delicacy.

10. When there is not a supply of clear water from a spring adjoining the cottage, or from some other efficient source, then there ought to be a well or tank, partly under the floor of the back kitchen, supplied from the roof, with a pump in the back kitchen for drawing it up for use, as hereafter described in detail. The advantages of having the tank or well under the back kitchen are, that it will secure from frost, and that the labour of carrying water will be avoided.

11. The privy should always be separated from the dwelling, unless it is a proper water-closet, with a soil-pipe communicating with a distant liquid-manure tank or cesspool. When detached, the privy should be over or adjoining a liquid-manure tank, in which a straight tube from the bottom of the basin ought to terminate; by which means the soil basin may always be kept clean by pouring down the common slops of the house. No surface being left from which smell can arise, except that of the area of the pipe, the double flap, to be hereafter described, will prevent the escape of the evaporation from this small surface, and also ensure a dry and clean seat.

12. The situation of the liquid-manure tank should be, as far as possible, from that of the filtered-water tank or clear-water well. It should be covered by an air-tight cover of flagstone, and have a narrow well adjoining, into which the liquid should filter through a grating, so as to be pumped up or taken away without grosser impurities, and in this state applied to the soil about growing crops.

13. In general, proprietors ought not to entrust the erection of labourers’ cottages on their estates to the farmers, as it is chiefly owing to this practice that so many wretched hovels exist in the best-cultivated districts of Scotland and in Northumberland.

14. No landed proprietor, as we think, ought to charge more for the land on which cottages are built than he would receive for it from a farmer, if let as part of a farm; and no more rent ought to be charged for the cost of building the cottage and enclosing the garden than the same sum would yield if invested in land, or, at all events, not more than can be obtained by government securities.

15. “Most of these conditions are laid down on the supposition that the intended builder of the cottage is actuated more by feelings of human sympathy than by a desire to make money; and hence they are addressed to the wealthy, and especially to the proprietors of land and extensive manufactories or mines.”

The following is the view of a double mechanic’s cottage, from Mr. Loudon’s collection, similar to the agricultural labourer’s model cottage, of which a view has already been given.

Besides the details of construction, such as are exemplified in the report, that appear deserving of attention, there are details in the furniture of cottages, and particular descriptions of furniture by which it appears that much improvement may be effected. For example, an important improvement in the box bedsteads used in Scotch cottages has been suggested by Dr. Wilson, of Kelso. It consists of a curtain-rod and curtains, which may be drawn out about three feet from the front of the bed, so as to form sufficient space between the curtain and the bed to serve as a dressing-room. It is observed by Mr. Loudon, that some of the Leith and London steamers had the berths in the ladies’ cabins fitted up in this mode some years ago; and it is a principle applicable, and, it is unnecessary to say. necessary for the preservation of decency in double-bedded rooms, as well as in those cottages where the box bedstead is used. The following is a copy of the plan of the improvement given by Mr. Loudon.

Another part of Dr. Wilson’s improvements in these beds consists of the hinging a part of the roof of the bed, so that it may be opened like a trap-door at pleasure for ventilation, and the hinging of the boards at the foot and at the back for the same object, and for giving access to a medical attendant. Mr. Loudon expresses a hope that these improvements form one step to getting rid of box bedsteads altogether. They are noticed here as exemplifications of the moral ends which may be gained in structural arrangements, which incur inconsiderable expense, and only a little care at the outset. Other detailed improvements may be made subservient to structural economy. The following is an exemplification thus described by Mr. Loudon:—“It is a matter of some difficulty, in small cottages, to place the shutters to the windows on the ground floor in such a manner as to answer the purpose, and yet be out of the way. The following plan has been adopted in some buildings of that description, which have been lately erected. The shutters are hung on hinges in such a manner as to fall down into a recess below the window during the day-time; and consequently they are quite out of the way when not wanted for shutting up the house, or for temporary purposes. The idea suggested itself that shutters be occasionally used as a table or ironing-board; and to effect this end, two movable bars as supports were let into mortices in the floor, and made to abut against similar mortices made in the ledges on the under side of the shutters. The two cornices were slightly rounded, and the upper surface was left plain without paint. Two swing iron or wooden brackets might be used instead of the wooden bars, as they could be folded back into the recess also.”

10.—_Specification of the Cost of Erection, Weekly Rents, Interest on
the Capital invested, and, the Numbers of Tenements and Cottages
occupied by the Poor and Labourers; taken from Returns made by the
Relieving Officers of their respective Districts, in 24 Unions in the
Counties of Cheshire, Stafford, Derby, and Lancaster._

┌─────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┐ │ │ No. 1. Lowest Class of │ │ │ Cottages, average 1_s._ │ │ │3_d._ per Week, or £3. 5_s._│ │ │ per Year, allowing for │ │ │ Repairs, &c. │ ├─────────────────────┼─────────┬────────┬─────────┤ │ │ │Average │Interest │ │ │Number of│Cost of │ on the │ │ │Tenements│erecting│Outlay or│ │ │ or │ each │ Capital │ │ │Cottages.│Cottage.│invested.│ ├─────────────────────┼─────────┼────────┼─────────┤ │ │ │ £. │Per Cent.│ │Congleton │ 1,168│ 47│ 7│ │Macclesfield │ 2,481│ 38│ 8½│ │Stockport │ 3,457│ 28│ 11‑12/20│ │Altrincham │ 1,200│ 49│ 6‑13/20│ │Northwich │ 1,615│ 52│ 6¼│ │Nantwich │ 1,994│ 47│ 7│ │Lichfield │ 1,281│ 34│ 9‑11/20│ │Newcastle │ 1,502│ 57│ 5‑14/20│ │Stoke-upon-Trent │ 2,181│ 45│ 7‑4/20│ │Woolstanton and │ │ │ │ │ Burslem │ 2,292│ 50│ 6½│ │Tamworth │ 1,278│ 47│ 7│ │Cheadle │ 1,438│ 40│ 8‑3/20│ │Uttoxeter │ 672│ 29│ 11‑4/20│ │Burton-upon-Trent │ 2,100│ 40│ 8‑3/20│ │Leek │ 1,281│ 47│ 7│ │Chapel-en-le-Frith │ 713│ 60│ 5‑8/20│ │Hayfield │ 270│ 50│ 6½│ │Glossop │ 142│ 60│ 5‑8/20│ │Bakewell │ 2,519│ 58│ 5‑12/20│ │Chesterfield │ 1,969│ 45│ 7‑4/20│ │Belper │ 3,324│ 40│ 8‑1/20│ │Derby │ 1,035│ 45│ 7‑4/20│ │Salford │ 680│ 53│ 6‑1/20│ │Chorlton-upon-Medlock│ 527│ 44│ 7‑8/20│ ├─────────────────────┼─────────┼────────┼─────────┤ │ │ 37,119│ 40[53]│ 8│ └─────────────────────┴─────────┴────────┴─────────┘

┌─────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┐ │ │ No. 2. Second Class of │ │ │ Cottages, average 2_s._ │ │ │ 3_d._ per Week, or £5. │ │ │ 15_s._ per Year, allowing │ │ │ for Repairs, &c. │ ├─────────────────────┼─────────┬────────┬─────────┤ │ │ │Average │Interest │ │ │Number of│Cost of │ on the │ │ │Tenements│erecting│Outlay or│ │ │ or │ each │ Capital │ │ │Cottages.│Cottage.│invested.│ ├─────────────────────┼─────────┼────────┼─────────┤ │ │ │ £. │Per Cent.│ │Congleton │ 2,035│ 66│ 8‑11/20│ │Macclesfield │ 3,864│ 60│ 9‑11/20│ │Stockport │ 5,032│ 53│ 10‑17/20│ │Altrincham │ 1,352│ 79│ 7‑6/20│ │Northwich │ 2,121│ 75│ 7‑11/20│ │Nantwich │ 1,158│ 74│ 7¾│ │Lichfield │ 1,227│ 68│ 8‑9/20│ │Newcastle │ 1,135│ 78│ 7‑7/20│ │Stoke-upon-Trent │ 5,610│ 60│ 9‑11/20│ │Woolstanton and │ │ │ │ │ Burslem │ 2,993│ 90│ 6‑8/20│ │Tamworth │ 376│ 69│ 8‑7/20│ │Cheadle │ 805│ 67│ 8‑12/20│ │Uttoxeter │ 471│ 40│ 14‑8/20│ │Burton-upon-Trent │ 1,270│ 90│ 6‑8/20│ │Leek │ 650│ 63│ 9‑1/20│ │Chapel-en-le-Frith │ 215│ 79│ 7‑6/20│ │Hayfield │ 534│ 80│ 7‑4/20│ │Glossop │ 559│ 80│ 7‑4/20│ │Bakewell │ 424│ 87│ 6‑12/20│ │Chesterfield │ 2,618│ 70│ 8‑4/20│ │Belper │ 2,542│ 67│ 8‑12/20│ │Derby │ 2,855│ 75│ 7‑11/20│ │Salford │ 3,741│ 46│ 12½│ │Chorlton-upon-Medlock│ 2,463│ 54│ 10‑11/20│ ├─────────────────────┼─────────┼────────┼─────────┤ │ │ 46,050│ 65│ 8¾│ └─────────────────────┴─────────┴────────┴─────────┘

┌─────────────────────┬────────────────────────────╥───────────┐ │ │ No. 3. Third Class of ║ │ │ │ Cottages, average 3_s._ ║ │ │ │6_d._ per Week, or £9. 2_s._║ │ │ │ per Year, allowing for ║ │ │ │ Repairs, &c. ║Population.│ ├─────────────────────┼─────────┬────────┬─────────╫───────────┤ │ │ │Average │Interest ║ │ │ │Number of│Cost of │ on the ║ │ │ │Tenements│erecting│Outlay or║ │ │ │ or │ each │ Capital ║ │ │ │Cottages.│Cottage.│invested.║ │ ├─────────────────────┼─────────┼────────┼─────────╫───────────┤ │ │ │ £. │Per Cent.║ │ │Congleton │ 395│ 94│ 9‑14/20║ 26,377│ │Macclesfield │ 2,657│ 84│ 10‑17/20║ 50,639│ │Stockport │ 6,436│ 98│ 9‑6/20║ 68,906│ │Altrincham │ 540│ 101│ 9║ 30,139│ │Northwich │ 212│ 89│ 10‑4/20║ 26,906│ │Nantwich │ 471│ 108│ 8‑9/20║ 30,992│ │Lichfield │ 320│ 148│ 6‑1/20║ 22,749│ │Newcastle │ 251│ 136│ 6‑14/20║ 16,476│ │Stoke-upon-Trent │ 946│ 90│ 10‑2/20║ 37,220│ │Woolstanton and │ │ │ ║ │ │ Burslem │ 295│ 150│ 6‑1/20║ 23,567│ │Tamworth │ 134│ 117│ 7‑16/20║ 12,175│ │Cheadle │ 169│ 101│ 9║ 14,473│ │Uttoxeter │ │ │ ║ 12,837│ │Burton-upon-Trent │ 125│ 115│ 7‑17/20║ 24,667│ │Leek │ 104│ 86│ 10‑12/20║ 18,387│ │Chapel-en-le-Frith │ 95│ 123│ 7‑8/20║ 10,448│ │Hayfield │ 627│ 140│ 6½║ 9,493│ │Glossop │ 1,050│ 90│ 10‑2/20║ 9,631│ │Bakewell │ 74│ 146│ 6¼║ 25,879│ │Chesterfield │ 128│ 105│ 8‑11/20║ 34,246│ │Belper │ 661│ 107│ 8½║ 33,388│ │Derby │ 1,026│ 155│ 5‑17/20║ 25,484│ │Salford │ 5,445│ 75│ 12‑1/20║ 52,366│ │Chorlton-upon-Medlock│ 4,261│ 83│ 10‑10/20║ 46,465│ ├─────────────────────┼─────────┼────────┼─────────╫───────────┤ │ │ 26,322│ 92│ 9¾║ 663,890│ └─────────────────────┴─────────┴────────┴─────────╨───────────┘

11.—_Tables of the Expense of building Cottages, and Repairs, in England
and Scotland._