Contents
It had choking, sooty fogs; the Thames River was thick with human sewage; and the streets were covered with mud. But according to Lee Jackson, author of Dirty Old London: The Victorian Fight Against Filth, mud was actually a euphemism. “It was essentially composed of horse dung,” he tells Fresh Air’s Sam Briger.
Furthermore, why was London so stinky in the 1800s? The Great Stink was an event in Central London in July and August 1858 during which the hot weather exacerbated the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent that was present on the banks of the River Thames.
You asked, what made Victorian London smell so bad? For centuries the River Thames had been used as a dumping ground for the capital’s waste and as the population grew, so did the problem. The hot summer of 1858 elevated the stench to an unbearable level and resulted in an episode known as ‘The Great Stink’.
Moreover, what did the 18th century smell like? So, smells can tell us a great deal about how past people perceived the world around them. When historians delve into the archive and start sniffing, there are five scents that waft from the annals of the 18th century with particular pungency: rose, fish, ammonia, tobacco and paint.
Amazingly, what was London like in 1800? London in the 1800s was a compact city where most people worked within walking distance of home. The narrow winding streets were often crowded with people, horses and carts,with only wealthy people able to travel by private carriage.The air itself was generally filled with soot and smoke. It was famously said of the sheep in Regent’s Park — there were still grazing sheep in Regent’s Park in the mid-Victorian period — that you could tell how long they’d been in the capital by how dirty their coats were.
How many bodies are in the Thames?
A drop of rain that joins the Thames at its source in the Cotswolds will go through the bodies of 8 people before it reaches the sea. In fact two thirds of London’s drinking water actually comes from the Thames.
What was London like during The Great Stink?
That particular summer, all of London was feeling the affects of an oppressive heat wave and as a result, all the sewage in the Thames began to ferment in the scorching sun—centuries of waste was literally cooking in the monstrous heat. The result was a smell as offensive and disgusting as can ever be imagined.
What did Victorians smell like?
Most fragrances in early to mid-Victorian times were delicate and floral. They were understated, feminine – and often simply conjured up the scent of a particular flower, such as jasmine, lavender, roses, honeysuckle…
How did London fix The Great Stink?
The government’s response during the early days of the stink was to douse the curtains of the Houses of Parliament in chloride of lime, before embarking on a final desperate measure to cure lousy old Father Thames by pouring chalk lime, chloride of lime and carbolic acid directly into the water.
Did everyone stink in the Middle Ages?
No, because hygiene standards did exist, and people used soap, deodorizers and perfumes, and bathed often.
What did Vikings smell like?
In Viking days, men were real men. And you could smell it a mile off. Mead, gore, sweat, animal meat, seawater and smoke were the typical odours of a 10th century warrior.
What did ancient Greece smell like?
The aromas most used by the Greeks were myrrh, mint, marjoram, thyme, oregano, myrtle, and almond blossom. Each and every one of these aromas had, of course, a divine origin.
What was life in the 1800s like?
Life for the average person in the 1800’s was hard. Many lived a hand-to-mouth existence, working long hours in often harsh conditions. … With no electric lighting (or gas) the rhythm of life revolved around the hours of daylight, and therefore would have varied with the seasons.
What was London like in 1850?
By the 1850s, London was the world’s most powerful and wealthiest city. But it was also the world’s most crowded city with growing problems of pollution and poverty that threatened to overwhelm its magnificence.
What was living in the 1800s like?
If you truly want to try life in the 1800s, be expected to have 18-20 children, all born at home, and have half of them die before the age of five because of dysentery, typhoid, scarlet fever or measles. Be prepared to get up with the sun and read by the light of your drafty fireplace.
What was London like in the 1890s?
1890 London had 5,728 street accidents, resulting in 144 deaths. London was the site of the world’s first traffic lights, installed at the crossroads of Bridge, Great George, and Parliament Streets outside the Houses of Parliament.
What was London like in 1920?
A century ago, London was a bustling city, filled with culture and beautiful architecture. In 1920, visitors and locals enjoyed its famous attractions like Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, and the River Thames.
What is the silent highwayman?
“The Silent Highwayman” serves as a reminder of a memorable time in London known as The Great Stink of 1858. The great stink occured as the result of an intense heat wave and a spectacularly inadequate waste disposal system that created a stench of human excrement so noxious that it was said to be unbearable.
How many bodies wash up in the Thames each year?
People are drawn to the river as a means to an end. I have found two souls that were claimed by its fast-running water and every year the river police recover around 35 bodies, 90 per cent of which are attributed to suicide.
Are there sharks in the Thames river?
Sharks have been found in London’s Thames river, an organisation for animal conservation Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has said. In 1957, some parts of the river were declared “biologically dead”, however it is now home to three kinds of sharks- the tope, starry smooth-hound and spurdog.
Where do bodies wash up on the Thames?
Gruesome history of mortuary under Tower Bridge where bodies washed up from the Thames. Underneath the north side of Tower Bridge, in an area where thousands of people pass everyday, lies a site known as Dead Man’s Hole.
Is the Thames full of sewage?
This year alone, 1.2 million tonnes of raw sewage has been dumped into the river Thames because the Victorian sewers can’t cope. Even a few millimetres of rain is enough to overwhelm the old tunnels and anything left over goes into the river.
When did London get sewage?
Parliament was forced to hurriedly legislate to create a new unified sewage system for London. The Bill became law on 2 August 1858.
What did people believe caused The Great Stink?
The source of what’s now known as the Great Stink was the River Thames, into which the city’s sewers emptied. … Then, in the summer of 1858, a heat wave hit the city and caused the extraordinary amount of waste within the river to ferment, which made the river smell worse than it ever had before.
Did they have perfume in the 1800s?
They were rarely applied directly to the skin. Instead, Victorian perfumes were used to scent handkerchiefs, gloves, and clothing, and even as a fragrant additive in cosmetic products like hair pomade or lip salve. Some fragrances were 19th century mainstays. Others were popular for a time and then fell out of favor.
