Sanitation, sanitation, sanitation

Edwin Chadwick, pioneer of public health at the national level in England in the 1840s, held strongly to the mantra that it was necessary to find the best way of doing something and to do it everywhere. One of his most long lasting memorials has been the brick-lined egg-shaped sewer. Earlier sewage systems, which had replaced earth privies or over-water latrines (picture from Lancashire from the 1980s, albeit plumbed in!) had suffered from their square shape tendency to back up. The dynamics of egg-shaped sewers created sufficient pressure to maintain a flow at most times. These systems, pioneered by Newlands, Liverpool’s borough engineer, have stood the test of time and are currently being re-lined with these composition inserts throughout the United Kingdom (pictured top right).