John David Buchanan's Blog
March 21, 2022
Rabies
Although not as common as many other ailments in England in the 1800s, rabies captured the public's attention, and filled them with terror, in a way other diseases did not. Rabies exposure was considered a death sentence because virtually no one survived.
In 1885, Louis Pasteur was presented with a terrible conundrum. Prior to 1885 he and Emile Roux had been injecting a series of rabbits in their cerebrum with rabies in an attempt to "diminish" the disease. At the time, the scientific community didn't know about viruses and it was assumed rabies was caused by a bacterium, or the infamous (and scientifically incorrect) miasma. Based on his rabbit experiments, Pasteur was able to successfully produce a vaccine that prevented rabies in dogs.
Then, the problem. In 1885, nine year old Joseph Meister was severely mauled by a rabid dog. Pasteur was informed of the boys condition and was asked to treat him. Initially, Pasteur declined because the dog treatment was new, there was little to no data on adverse effects, and it had never been given to humans. The idea of injecting a young boy as the first rabies patient was troublesome.
After much consultation with various doctors, and heavily pressured by the realization the young boy was going to die a horrendous death if he didn't try to intervene, Pasteur relented. Joseph was given a series of injections. He never developed rabies and there were no reported side effects. The following year, the vaccine was administered to 350 people bitten by rabid animals; only one of those patients developed rabies and died.
In 1885, Louis Pasteur was presented with a terrible conundrum. Prior to 1885 he and Emile Roux had been injecting a series of rabbits in their cerebrum with rabies in an attempt to "diminish" the disease. At the time, the scientific community didn't know about viruses and it was assumed rabies was caused by a bacterium, or the infamous (and scientifically incorrect) miasma. Based on his rabbit experiments, Pasteur was able to successfully produce a vaccine that prevented rabies in dogs.
Then, the problem. In 1885, nine year old Joseph Meister was severely mauled by a rabid dog. Pasteur was informed of the boys condition and was asked to treat him. Initially, Pasteur declined because the dog treatment was new, there was little to no data on adverse effects, and it had never been given to humans. The idea of injecting a young boy as the first rabies patient was troublesome.
After much consultation with various doctors, and heavily pressured by the realization the young boy was going to die a horrendous death if he didn't try to intervene, Pasteur relented. Joseph was given a series of injections. He never developed rabies and there were no reported side effects. The following year, the vaccine was administered to 350 people bitten by rabid animals; only one of those patients developed rabies and died.
October 18, 2018
England - 1800s Shoes
In the middle ages tradesmen formed guilds to protect their professions. Craftsmen who worked with leather were known as Cordwainers, the name being associated with fine leather imported from Cordoba, Spain. By the 1700s most shoe and boot makers barely made a living wage; about 9 to 10 shillings a week. Since leather was expensive, many shoemakers resorted to reducing the thickness of the leather in their heels and soles to stretch their budget and lower expenses.
Before the industrial revolution shoes for the right feet and left feet were identical as they were built on straight lasts. Each size shoe size typically came in slim or stout versions. Because they were straight, the shoes had to be worn for some time before they began to mold to the shape of the wearers feet. Ouch! In the late 1800s sizes and widths became standardized as shoe makers adopted new technologies.
The result of standardization and technology – more availability and lower cost shoes. As prices dropped, men and women could afford several pairs of shoes and could selected from a larger variety. Manufacturers began to make sport shoes, shoes for specific types of athletics; even shoes to match a specific outfit. Changes in society opened the door for the return of sandals, which were almost relegated to history because they lacked modesty.
Although small shoes were worn for evening wear or dress occasions like fancy dinner parties, the most common shoes in the mid-1800s were boots. As factories took over more and more of the cityside, people of means began to move to the country. Walking became a popular rural activity and good boots were a necessity.
British, side-laced boots were called Adelaides. Garibaldi boots were elastic sided boots and front laced boots popular with men and women were called Balmorals. Boots ruled the 19th century shoe market despite the popularity of delicate dress shoes such as kid slippers.
Around the mid-century mark, button boots were popular. They were less chunky, tight fitting boots that flattered the feet and ankles, making them more attractive. Low heeled boots were more prevalent early in the century, but as time progressed heels became taller.
The precursor of the tennis shoe arrived around 1830 when manufacturers started using canvas and vulcanized rubber. Initially, they were mostly worn to the beach and were known as sand shoes. On or about mid-century canvas shoes with laces made their debut. With pliable rubber soles and breathable uppers, they were more comfortable than the clunky everyday boot. But they never caught on – NOT.
The American sewing machine, adapted to sew leather (to close uppers, which was traditionally women’s work) was introduced to Britain factories by Edwin Bostock in Stafford in October 1855. Other shoe processes continued to be performed in the shoemakers’ homes. The Blake sole stitcher was built in 1864 and introduced to Stafford and Stone around 1871.
Pegging and riveting machines were adopted in Britain during the 1860s. Finishing, the last process to be mechanized, was implemented in the 1890s.
The shoemaking trades were plagued with troubles throughout the 19th century when exports to Australia and Canada declined and American factories flooded markets with shoes. Upheaval in the British industry resulted in the May 1905 march of Raunds army bootmakers from Northamptonshire to London to protest against a tendering system that depressed their wages.
Like most trades of the 1800s, shoemakers lost out to advances in technology, and handmade shoes and boots became more and more rare with the passing of time.
Before the industrial revolution shoes for the right feet and left feet were identical as they were built on straight lasts. Each size shoe size typically came in slim or stout versions. Because they were straight, the shoes had to be worn for some time before they began to mold to the shape of the wearers feet. Ouch! In the late 1800s sizes and widths became standardized as shoe makers adopted new technologies.
The result of standardization and technology – more availability and lower cost shoes. As prices dropped, men and women could afford several pairs of shoes and could selected from a larger variety. Manufacturers began to make sport shoes, shoes for specific types of athletics; even shoes to match a specific outfit. Changes in society opened the door for the return of sandals, which were almost relegated to history because they lacked modesty.
Although small shoes were worn for evening wear or dress occasions like fancy dinner parties, the most common shoes in the mid-1800s were boots. As factories took over more and more of the cityside, people of means began to move to the country. Walking became a popular rural activity and good boots were a necessity.
British, side-laced boots were called Adelaides. Garibaldi boots were elastic sided boots and front laced boots popular with men and women were called Balmorals. Boots ruled the 19th century shoe market despite the popularity of delicate dress shoes such as kid slippers.
Around the mid-century mark, button boots were popular. They were less chunky, tight fitting boots that flattered the feet and ankles, making them more attractive. Low heeled boots were more prevalent early in the century, but as time progressed heels became taller.
The precursor of the tennis shoe arrived around 1830 when manufacturers started using canvas and vulcanized rubber. Initially, they were mostly worn to the beach and were known as sand shoes. On or about mid-century canvas shoes with laces made their debut. With pliable rubber soles and breathable uppers, they were more comfortable than the clunky everyday boot. But they never caught on – NOT.
The American sewing machine, adapted to sew leather (to close uppers, which was traditionally women’s work) was introduced to Britain factories by Edwin Bostock in Stafford in October 1855. Other shoe processes continued to be performed in the shoemakers’ homes. The Blake sole stitcher was built in 1864 and introduced to Stafford and Stone around 1871.
Pegging and riveting machines were adopted in Britain during the 1860s. Finishing, the last process to be mechanized, was implemented in the 1890s.
The shoemaking trades were plagued with troubles throughout the 19th century when exports to Australia and Canada declined and American factories flooded markets with shoes. Upheaval in the British industry resulted in the May 1905 march of Raunds army bootmakers from Northamptonshire to London to protest against a tendering system that depressed their wages.
Like most trades of the 1800s, shoemakers lost out to advances in technology, and handmade shoes and boots became more and more rare with the passing of time.
September 7, 2018
London’s Laborers in 1800s – Poverty for One and All
Laborers in London in the 1800s - the people that churned out goods and services for everyone to enjoy. Everyone that is, except the laborers. Poverty was considered the natural condition of poor laborers. Society being what it was, thought government should remain as small as possible and disregarded virtually any assistance programs.
Poor people were thought to be spendthrifts who wasted their money on drinking and gambling. If a poor person was unable to support themselves, they had a difficult time finding help, since the New Poor Law of 1834 discouraged those efforts unless they were willing to enter a workhouse (known as a spike) for accommodations and employment.
The law also limited the movement of workers and established a fixed wage (which held skilled laborers at poverty level subsistence). Typically, those who went to a workhouse had few or no skills, or bad work habits, otherwise they could find a job elsewhere.
Many facility owners of that day hoped to profit from free labor and put their tenants to work breaking stones, crushing bones to produce fertilizer, or picking oakum. Tarred fiber, or oakum, was used to seal gaps in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel and in log cabins for chinking.
In ship caulking, it was forced between the seams using a hammer and a caulking iron, then sealed into place with hot tar. Picking apart oakum to recycle the fiber was a tedious and hard on worker’s fingers.
Workhouses were intentionally harsh so able bodied men and women wouldn’t be tempted to live in them; only those in dire circumstances willingly applied to live there. Children made up about half of the workhouse populations. It was in a workhouse that the character Oliver Twist uttered his famous phrase “Please Sir, I want some more.”
An unintended consequence of a family living in a workhouse was their children were provided free medical care and education. Poor families not living in workhouses had no such services until the 20th century. As the 19th century progressed, workhouses became filled with the elderly and sick. In 1948, The National Assistance Act relegated England’s poor laws to history and the workhouses went with them.
In London (and probably everywhere else) a man working as a laborer was always paid more than a women. Single men might often live in poverty, but they did much better than their female counterparts. When women married their circumstances usually improved. Two jobs meant more money to pay for better living accommodations and more food. The improved status only lasted until a couple had children, when living accommodations became cramped and there were more mouths to feed on the same budget; a typical couple had four to five children. Starting a family while working as a laborer meant living in abject poverty.
With 12 shillings to spend on food each week, meals consisted mostly of bread. When the poverty level eased a bit, meals might include milk, cheese or potatoes. When things went awry, it was back to bread.
The cycles of ups and downs continued when children left home – more space and more food for mom and dad. But if someone got sick or lived too long to be useful as a laborer, things could turn bad and usually did.
Why were workhouses for the poor called spikes you ask? A spike was a tool supplied to tenants. It was used to coax tarred fibers apart so they could be reused. Try doing that ten hours a day. My hands and fingers ache just thinking about it.
Poor people were thought to be spendthrifts who wasted their money on drinking and gambling. If a poor person was unable to support themselves, they had a difficult time finding help, since the New Poor Law of 1834 discouraged those efforts unless they were willing to enter a workhouse (known as a spike) for accommodations and employment.
The law also limited the movement of workers and established a fixed wage (which held skilled laborers at poverty level subsistence). Typically, those who went to a workhouse had few or no skills, or bad work habits, otherwise they could find a job elsewhere.
Many facility owners of that day hoped to profit from free labor and put their tenants to work breaking stones, crushing bones to produce fertilizer, or picking oakum. Tarred fiber, or oakum, was used to seal gaps in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel and in log cabins for chinking.
In ship caulking, it was forced between the seams using a hammer and a caulking iron, then sealed into place with hot tar. Picking apart oakum to recycle the fiber was a tedious and hard on worker’s fingers.
Workhouses were intentionally harsh so able bodied men and women wouldn’t be tempted to live in them; only those in dire circumstances willingly applied to live there. Children made up about half of the workhouse populations. It was in a workhouse that the character Oliver Twist uttered his famous phrase “Please Sir, I want some more.”
An unintended consequence of a family living in a workhouse was their children were provided free medical care and education. Poor families not living in workhouses had no such services until the 20th century. As the 19th century progressed, workhouses became filled with the elderly and sick. In 1948, The National Assistance Act relegated England’s poor laws to history and the workhouses went with them.
In London (and probably everywhere else) a man working as a laborer was always paid more than a women. Single men might often live in poverty, but they did much better than their female counterparts. When women married their circumstances usually improved. Two jobs meant more money to pay for better living accommodations and more food. The improved status only lasted until a couple had children, when living accommodations became cramped and there were more mouths to feed on the same budget; a typical couple had four to five children. Starting a family while working as a laborer meant living in abject poverty.
With 12 shillings to spend on food each week, meals consisted mostly of bread. When the poverty level eased a bit, meals might include milk, cheese or potatoes. When things went awry, it was back to bread.
The cycles of ups and downs continued when children left home – more space and more food for mom and dad. But if someone got sick or lived too long to be useful as a laborer, things could turn bad and usually did.
Why were workhouses for the poor called spikes you ask? A spike was a tool supplied to tenants. It was used to coax tarred fibers apart so they could be reused. Try doing that ten hours a day. My hands and fingers ache just thinking about it.
August 2, 2018
LONDON - POISONS ABOUND
Poisons were everywhere in 1800s England, literally. From paints to wallpaper, rat bait and cosmetics. The industrial revolution used anything and everything to make anything and everything. The neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system, as well as a symptom derived from mercury poisoning was deemed erethism mercurialis, a condition sometimes known as the mad hatter disease.
It was common among old England felt-hat makers who used mercury to stabilize hair that was cut from rabbit pelts in a process called felting. The workers were exposed to the mercury vapors, giving rise to the expression ‘mad as a hatter’. Across the channel, the tanners went mad because they were exposed to heavy metal toxins during the leather tanning process – can you say mercury and chromium contamination.
Of course, it didn’t take long for unscrupulous people to realize poisonous compounds weren’t regulated. At least not until the mid to late 1800s, or thereabouts. If you were really ticked off, and were the type to consider murdering your lover, there were several options to choose. Some had obvious side-effects so the smarter murderers arrange their shenanigans to be private.
Madeleine Smith tried to end her relationship with her lover only to be blackmailed by him. Pierre L’Angelier threatened to make Madeleine’s love letters public if she left; that was wrong on every level. She left him alright. During her trial she admitted purchasing arsenic but testified she used it in her washing and as a cosmetic. Oh, and for killing rats.
She must have thrown that one in to throw the prosecutor off the scent. Pierre had a boatload of arsenic in his stomach. Oddly, he made a statement in his diary about feeling ill after having coffee with Miss Smith. Even more absurd – Madeleine was found innocent. I’m sure him being French had nothing to do with the jury’s verdict.
Ease of access made poisoning a common means of murder during the “Golden Age” of poisons. Cyanide was everywhere and resulted in convulsions, nausea, heart attacks, passing out, and death. Any or several of those could happen in a matter of seconds. For someone planning a murder, speed was a great advantage, but it didn’t take a genius to see the effects. They were so recognizable cyanide couldn’t be used as a public poison.
Imagine sitting at tea when your friend says, “I say, that chap over there appears to be nauseated. Heavens, he’s convulsing. I think he’s having a heart attack. He’s passed out, someone call a … Never mind, he’s dead. Wow, it must have been natural causes.”
Since it was used as a pesticide, strychnine was easily acquired. If perchance you were inclined to use strychnine for some nefarious intent, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere near your target when they began to froth at the mouth and have muscle spasms. The victim characteristically died from asphyxiation when their neural pathways became paralyzed.
Although it was as subtle as a cannon, strychnine was a popular poison for years. In a very nasty bit of business, a family in Brighton was targeted by having poisoned cakes delivered to their home. The accompanying note declared that they would surely guess who it was from, and the special ones were flavored for them to enjoy. A newspaper reported a forged order was used by the poisoner to get a large quantity of strychnine from a local chemist.
Cyanide and strychnine were popular poisons, but arsenic was king of poisons in the Victorian era. It was easily acquired and fairly difficult to detect. People who died of ‘food poisoning’ had no idea they were fed a tasteless compound with no odor. These traits made murders difficult to investigate. The Arsenic Act of 1851 brought restrictions on its sale and required arsenic to be colored indigo to make it easier to detect.
Murderers who used poisons found it more and more difficult to get away with it with the advances in toxicology and pathology in the mid-1800s. Scientists became more proficient at proving the occurrence of suspected compounds. The poison party of the early 1800s was just about over. Poisons were now more distinguishable, and the newspapers had circulated their effects so broadly, that the tripartite poisoner’s kit of cyanide, strychnine and arsenic were used to a smaller extent.
What were jilted lovers and vengeful persons to do? Use scopolamine possibly, or a little too much recreational drug like opium, or a large dose of the medical concoction laudanum.
When there weren’t enough cadavers in London for anatomical studies, William Burke and William Hare sold the body of a lodger that died in Hare’s building to a doctor. They received a whopping seven pounds and decided to go into the business. Where do you get bodies? No problem, they had a method of obtaining them – murder. There’s no telling how they did the deeds, but the array of new drugs available would have made it fairly easy.
FYI, if you have an interest in the old Victorian daguerreotype photographic method it’s pretty neat. And, the mercury vapors, they are to die for.
It was common among old England felt-hat makers who used mercury to stabilize hair that was cut from rabbit pelts in a process called felting. The workers were exposed to the mercury vapors, giving rise to the expression ‘mad as a hatter’. Across the channel, the tanners went mad because they were exposed to heavy metal toxins during the leather tanning process – can you say mercury and chromium contamination.
Of course, it didn’t take long for unscrupulous people to realize poisonous compounds weren’t regulated. At least not until the mid to late 1800s, or thereabouts. If you were really ticked off, and were the type to consider murdering your lover, there were several options to choose. Some had obvious side-effects so the smarter murderers arrange their shenanigans to be private.
Madeleine Smith tried to end her relationship with her lover only to be blackmailed by him. Pierre L’Angelier threatened to make Madeleine’s love letters public if she left; that was wrong on every level. She left him alright. During her trial she admitted purchasing arsenic but testified she used it in her washing and as a cosmetic. Oh, and for killing rats.
She must have thrown that one in to throw the prosecutor off the scent. Pierre had a boatload of arsenic in his stomach. Oddly, he made a statement in his diary about feeling ill after having coffee with Miss Smith. Even more absurd – Madeleine was found innocent. I’m sure him being French had nothing to do with the jury’s verdict.
Ease of access made poisoning a common means of murder during the “Golden Age” of poisons. Cyanide was everywhere and resulted in convulsions, nausea, heart attacks, passing out, and death. Any or several of those could happen in a matter of seconds. For someone planning a murder, speed was a great advantage, but it didn’t take a genius to see the effects. They were so recognizable cyanide couldn’t be used as a public poison.
Imagine sitting at tea when your friend says, “I say, that chap over there appears to be nauseated. Heavens, he’s convulsing. I think he’s having a heart attack. He’s passed out, someone call a … Never mind, he’s dead. Wow, it must have been natural causes.”
Since it was used as a pesticide, strychnine was easily acquired. If perchance you were inclined to use strychnine for some nefarious intent, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere near your target when they began to froth at the mouth and have muscle spasms. The victim characteristically died from asphyxiation when their neural pathways became paralyzed.
Although it was as subtle as a cannon, strychnine was a popular poison for years. In a very nasty bit of business, a family in Brighton was targeted by having poisoned cakes delivered to their home. The accompanying note declared that they would surely guess who it was from, and the special ones were flavored for them to enjoy. A newspaper reported a forged order was used by the poisoner to get a large quantity of strychnine from a local chemist.
Cyanide and strychnine were popular poisons, but arsenic was king of poisons in the Victorian era. It was easily acquired and fairly difficult to detect. People who died of ‘food poisoning’ had no idea they were fed a tasteless compound with no odor. These traits made murders difficult to investigate. The Arsenic Act of 1851 brought restrictions on its sale and required arsenic to be colored indigo to make it easier to detect.
Murderers who used poisons found it more and more difficult to get away with it with the advances in toxicology and pathology in the mid-1800s. Scientists became more proficient at proving the occurrence of suspected compounds. The poison party of the early 1800s was just about over. Poisons were now more distinguishable, and the newspapers had circulated their effects so broadly, that the tripartite poisoner’s kit of cyanide, strychnine and arsenic were used to a smaller extent.
What were jilted lovers and vengeful persons to do? Use scopolamine possibly, or a little too much recreational drug like opium, or a large dose of the medical concoction laudanum.
When there weren’t enough cadavers in London for anatomical studies, William Burke and William Hare sold the body of a lodger that died in Hare’s building to a doctor. They received a whopping seven pounds and decided to go into the business. Where do you get bodies? No problem, they had a method of obtaining them – murder. There’s no telling how they did the deeds, but the array of new drugs available would have made it fairly easy.
FYI, if you have an interest in the old Victorian daguerreotype photographic method it’s pretty neat. And, the mercury vapors, they are to die for.
July 10, 2018
London's early Police
London in the 1700s and early 1800s had no paid policemen. Law enforcement was carried out by parish constables who were elected to their positions. Later, they were appointed by the local justice of the peace.
In times of extreme civil disorder, the army would be called to intervene and support the local constables. Yeomanry, a designation used by the British Army Reserve and descended from volunteer cavalry regiments, were used for these peacekeeping duties before police forces developed.
While constables appreciated the support of yeomanry, their combined efforts were unorganized, and they had no criminal investigation division. In his position as a Magistrate, Henry Fielding introduced the first detective force, known as the Bow Street Runners, in 1753. The force was composed of eight constables who investigated crimes referred by volunteer constables and watchmen.
The Marine Police Force was established in 1798 and salaried constables were paid by local magistrates. That force started with 220 Constables who were assisted by 1,000 registered dock workers. Their mandate was to prevent crimes and theft of cargo in and around the River Thames. By 1799, 2,000 offenders were apprehended and found guilty of theft from the docks. This success led to the enacting of the Marine Police Bill, which made it the first publicly funded preventive police force in the history of England.
The early 1800s saw a mix of programs to address the increase in crime. The Bow Street Horse Patrol was established in 1805 as the first form of uniformed policing seen in London, and independent “police” (called thief-takers) were employed by members of the public to catch criminals and take them before a magistrate.
Combining the street Bow Street Runners and Bow Street Horse Patrol resulted in formation of the Metropolitan Police in 1837. Their ranks grew when the Marine Police joined with them, forming the Thames Division.
Sir Robert Peel believed the way to standardize the police was to make it a paid profession, to organize it as a civilian entity, and to make it answerable to the public. Parliament agreed with Peel’s ideas and enacted the Metropolitan Police Act, 1839. The City of London Police were also created in the same year as an independent force.
The original headquarters of the newly formed Metropolitan Police had a back entrance on Great Scotland Yard. It wasn’t long before the police force was known to everyone simply as Scotland Yard. Once formed, the Scotland Yard was the third official non-paramilitary city police force in the world.
Peel purposely organized the force in a manner that dispelled comparisons to the military, since citizens were uncomfortable with military involvement in civilian matters. That led to the police uniform being made of blue cloth, rather than red like military coats. Initially, Peel’s police officers were armed with only a small wooden night stick, and a rattle to signal the need for assistance.
Police Constables were unpopular among the citizenry, who referred to them as raw lobsters, blue devils, and Peel's Bloody Gang. Officers were sometimes physically assaulted, others impaled, blinded, or run-over.
The Detective Branch of the Metropolitan Police investigated The Bermondsey Horror of 1849. Frederick and Marie Manning, murdered Patrick O'Connor and buried his body under the kitchen floor. After going on the run, they were tracked down by MP detectives and publicly hanged outside Horsemonger Gaol in Southwark.
Owing to the fact standards of discipline were in their infancy, in 1863, 215 officers were arrested for being intoxicated while on duty. In 1872 there was a police strike, and during 1877 three high ranking detectives were tried for corruption. This led to the reorganization of the Detective Branch, which became the Criminal Investigation Unit.
The CIU investigated one of the most notorious criminals in English history – Jack the Ripper – who is widely believed to be responsible for some, or all, of the Whitechapel Murders. Although there was a long list of suspects, the Whitechapel Murders were never solved (by the police) and the identity of Jack the Ripper remains a mystery.
In times of extreme civil disorder, the army would be called to intervene and support the local constables. Yeomanry, a designation used by the British Army Reserve and descended from volunteer cavalry regiments, were used for these peacekeeping duties before police forces developed.
While constables appreciated the support of yeomanry, their combined efforts were unorganized, and they had no criminal investigation division. In his position as a Magistrate, Henry Fielding introduced the first detective force, known as the Bow Street Runners, in 1753. The force was composed of eight constables who investigated crimes referred by volunteer constables and watchmen.
The Marine Police Force was established in 1798 and salaried constables were paid by local magistrates. That force started with 220 Constables who were assisted by 1,000 registered dock workers. Their mandate was to prevent crimes and theft of cargo in and around the River Thames. By 1799, 2,000 offenders were apprehended and found guilty of theft from the docks. This success led to the enacting of the Marine Police Bill, which made it the first publicly funded preventive police force in the history of England.
The early 1800s saw a mix of programs to address the increase in crime. The Bow Street Horse Patrol was established in 1805 as the first form of uniformed policing seen in London, and independent “police” (called thief-takers) were employed by members of the public to catch criminals and take them before a magistrate.
Combining the street Bow Street Runners and Bow Street Horse Patrol resulted in formation of the Metropolitan Police in 1837. Their ranks grew when the Marine Police joined with them, forming the Thames Division.
Sir Robert Peel believed the way to standardize the police was to make it a paid profession, to organize it as a civilian entity, and to make it answerable to the public. Parliament agreed with Peel’s ideas and enacted the Metropolitan Police Act, 1839. The City of London Police were also created in the same year as an independent force.
The original headquarters of the newly formed Metropolitan Police had a back entrance on Great Scotland Yard. It wasn’t long before the police force was known to everyone simply as Scotland Yard. Once formed, the Scotland Yard was the third official non-paramilitary city police force in the world.
Peel purposely organized the force in a manner that dispelled comparisons to the military, since citizens were uncomfortable with military involvement in civilian matters. That led to the police uniform being made of blue cloth, rather than red like military coats. Initially, Peel’s police officers were armed with only a small wooden night stick, and a rattle to signal the need for assistance.
Police Constables were unpopular among the citizenry, who referred to them as raw lobsters, blue devils, and Peel's Bloody Gang. Officers were sometimes physically assaulted, others impaled, blinded, or run-over.
The Detective Branch of the Metropolitan Police investigated The Bermondsey Horror of 1849. Frederick and Marie Manning, murdered Patrick O'Connor and buried his body under the kitchen floor. After going on the run, they were tracked down by MP detectives and publicly hanged outside Horsemonger Gaol in Southwark.
Owing to the fact standards of discipline were in their infancy, in 1863, 215 officers were arrested for being intoxicated while on duty. In 1872 there was a police strike, and during 1877 three high ranking detectives were tried for corruption. This led to the reorganization of the Detective Branch, which became the Criminal Investigation Unit.
The CIU investigated one of the most notorious criminals in English history – Jack the Ripper – who is widely believed to be responsible for some, or all, of the Whitechapel Murders. Although there was a long list of suspects, the Whitechapel Murders were never solved (by the police) and the identity of Jack the Ripper remains a mystery.
June 7, 2018
1800s London
The economy of England was growing at a tremendous rate, and the crime rate grew right along with it. A lot was going right in England but there was a lot to be worried about as well.
The law required night men to clean out septic tanks only at night because the stench was so vile. The sludge was often dumped on open land without any treatment or controls. Runoff after rains (and there is plenty of that in London) went straight to the River Thames. Environmental contaminants fostered outbreaks of cholera and dysentery.
In the 1880s, there were 300,000 horses on the streets of London. That's a lot of poo. The horse poo problem was so bad the city hired young boys to dart out into the street s, scoop up the dung, and stockpile it on the sides of the roads where it could be removed later.
Here is something from Stall Waste Production and Management - A 1,000 pound horse will defecate approximately four to thirteen times each day and produce approximately nine tons of manure per year. The 1,000 pound horse will produce, on the average, 37 pounds of feces and 2.4 gallons of urine daily, which totals about 50 pounds of raw waste per day in feces and urine combined.
I'll do the math for you. Rounding up to the nearest ton, that's a mountain of dung and urine every day. Fancy a nice walk down an London Street in 1880? 1,100,000 pounds of horse manure and 720,000 gallons of urine are there to greet you.
Although there were 10,000 boobies on the streets, crime was rampant. That led to passage of a law listing 200 crimes for which you could be hanged publicly. One of them was stealing food. Violent crime was at a all time high. The year 1888 was especially bad with the Whitechapel murders (Jack the Ripper) and the Whitehall murder.
Is this the same London Mary Poppins visited when she became George and Winifred Banks' nanny?
The law required night men to clean out septic tanks only at night because the stench was so vile. The sludge was often dumped on open land without any treatment or controls. Runoff after rains (and there is plenty of that in London) went straight to the River Thames. Environmental contaminants fostered outbreaks of cholera and dysentery.
In the 1880s, there were 300,000 horses on the streets of London. That's a lot of poo. The horse poo problem was so bad the city hired young boys to dart out into the street s, scoop up the dung, and stockpile it on the sides of the roads where it could be removed later.
Here is something from Stall Waste Production and Management - A 1,000 pound horse will defecate approximately four to thirteen times each day and produce approximately nine tons of manure per year. The 1,000 pound horse will produce, on the average, 37 pounds of feces and 2.4 gallons of urine daily, which totals about 50 pounds of raw waste per day in feces and urine combined.
I'll do the math for you. Rounding up to the nearest ton, that's a mountain of dung and urine every day. Fancy a nice walk down an London Street in 1880? 1,100,000 pounds of horse manure and 720,000 gallons of urine are there to greet you.
Although there were 10,000 boobies on the streets, crime was rampant. That led to passage of a law listing 200 crimes for which you could be hanged publicly. One of them was stealing food. Violent crime was at a all time high. The year 1888 was especially bad with the Whitechapel murders (Jack the Ripper) and the Whitehall murder.
Is this the same London Mary Poppins visited when she became George and Winifred Banks' nanny?
