Eradicating Filth: Public Health in Victorian Times


Wednesfield / Heath Town

Wednesfield is situated some 2 miles (4km) from Wolverhampton. The township consisted of Wednesfield and Wednesfield Heath (Heath Town) population 3,168 (1841 census).

Wednesfield Heath (Heath Town) 1921 (C2/WED/7/2)

The areas to the south, west and east of the township were located on the ten-yard seam of 'thick coal' that formed part of the South Staffordshire Coal Field The area to the north of the township was in the main agricultural. Wednesfield was a township of contrasts, with coal mining, iron works, metal manufacturing, lock and key making and
vermin traps, together with agriculture.

Well Lane, Wednesfield c 1902 (C2/WEL/6/3)

One of the earliest enquiries into public health was the Royal Commision for the Inquiry on the Sanitary State of Large Towns & Populous Districts, 1844 (or the Chadwick Report as it was also known).

In response to the Chadwick Report, Wolverhampton sent a petition to the General Board of Health signed by a tenth of the rated inhabitants of Wolverhampton, as required by the Public Health Act (1848), for an enquiry into the state of Wolverhampton, Bilston, Wednesfield and Willenhall.

The result was the Report to the General Board of Health: 1849 written by Robert Rawlinson (L614)

In his report Rawlinson described Wednesfield thus:

Extract from Rawlinson Report, page 34

The extract lists such things as:

The township is described as a straggling village
No system of sewers
Some parts of the streets unformed and unpaved
Not overcrowded

The Report continues:

Extract from Rawlinson Report, page 38

The extract lists such things as:

The churchyard was full
No room to bury the dead of the township

JC Tildesley in The Gazette 29th June 1868 noted,

"Wednesfield is the beau-ideal of a Black Country town. It presents a quaint mixture of town and country, garden and workshop, toil and ease"…*

*Staffordshire Encyclopaedia page 644 (S9 COC)

A quaint mixture of town and country may have been one person's view of Wednesfield. However the Medical Officer of Health had another view of Wednesfield Heath (Heath Town) in 1887.

In a letter dated 25th March 1887 on the sanitary condition of Heath Town the Medical Officer of Health noted.

"There were 40 deaths of children under one year old, 17 between 1 and 5 years, 7 between 15 and 25, 22 between 25 and 60 and 38 over 60 years of age".

"There were 208 nuisances dealt with during the year viz 14 foul closets, 21 defective drains, … 130 houses without a good supply of water"*…

*Letter from Medical Officer of Health 1887 (CMB-WOL-D-PH-1)

In 1856 a Joint Sanitary Committee was formed with Wednesfield Heath, the first form of local government. This became a joint local board in 1863 and was responsible for public health and sanitation matters. Unfortunately few, if any, records of their work have survived.