Public health

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Overview

Water supply 1570-1768

Water supply 1768-1974

Drainage & amenities 1766-1850

Sewers & environmental services 1851-date

Health and disease 1866-date

Abstract of Bath Town Clerks' In-Letter Books

Bath Record Office holds a wide range of material relating to the history of public health.

The collections are particularly strong in charting the provision of basic infrastructure such as water supply and sewerage, but also record the development of services to promote health care and prevent disease. The records date from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first, with most relating to the period from the mid-eighteenth century to the late twentieth.

Local records are a particularly valuable resource for research as they show in detail how individual areas dealt with public health. National policies were implemented by local authorities in different ways and at different speeds, with the impetus for change often influenced by local circumstances, communities and individuals. Detailed local studies contribute to an overall understanding of the development of public health infrastructure, systems and activities, and provide an evidence base for analysis of their effectiveness.

Access to a very small number of records may be restricted in accordance with UK data protection law.

Medieval and early modern periods: Bath Corporation

1766-1851: Bath [Improvement] Commissions

During the eighteenth century, Bath grew from a small market and spa town into a fashionable resort for the aristocracy and gentry. The water supply the Corporation piped to parts of the city was a significant attraction to visitors, but the Corporation did not have the powers to provide other public health amenities such as paved streets, street lighting, rubbish removal and watching (policing). These were important issues both for the convenience of the inhabitants and for their high-class visitors. After other approaches met with limited success, the Corporation turned to the solution adopted by other cities: the setting up of independent commissions covering small areas, with powers to raise money for specific purposes. Five Acts of Parliament set up commissions as follows:

1766 Bath Act, repealed and replaced by the 1814 Bath Act

Both these Acts related only to the limited area covered by the borough, excluding the developing area of Outer Walcot, just to the north of the city centre.

1789 Bath Improvement Act

Again, this covered only the borough. Its main focus was the built environment rather than public health.

1793 Walcot Act

This Act covered the area of Walcot which was outside the borough; this area, just to the north of the city centre, included the Circus, Royal Crescent and other significant buildings which were developed from the mid-eighteenth century to accommodate the city’s fashionable residents and visitors.

1801 Bathwick Act

This Act covered the parish of Bathwick. To the east of the city centre, from which it was separated by the River Avon, Bathwick was developed as a fashionable suburb from the 1780s.

The composition of the different commissions varied, but all included representatives of the relevant parishes together with a small number of members of the Corporation. Their functions differed slightly, but included responsibility for street paving (and drainage), lighting, removal of ‘nuisances’ (rubbish) and ‘watching’ (policing), together with powers to compel compliance. Significantly, they were empowered to raise money from rates and loans.

1851-1974: Bath City Council

The first national Public Health Act, passed in 1848 partly as a result of pressure from sanitary reformers, permitted the setting up of ‘Local Boards of Health’ to tackle issues of basic public health infrastructure. The City Council took the opportunity to constitute itself as the Local Board of Health for Bath in the Bath Act of 1851, adopting the provisions of the 1848 Act and adding some further Bath-specific provisions. The Council as Local Board of Health took over the functions of the different commissions, which were wound up.

Over the next century the role of the Council expanded greatly as various public health acts were passed, giving it responsibility or authority to act in a wide range of areas. By the mid-twentieth century, the Council was responsible not only for infrastructure such as water supply and sewers, but also for building standards and lodging houses; baths and washhouses; food standards; midwives and maternal, infant and child health; mental health; isolation hospitals; tuberculosis patients; and other health promotion and disease prevention measures. As the responsibilities of the Council grew, it set up a number of committees and sub-committees to deal with specific aspects of public health.

The Council appointed its first Medical Officer of Health (MOH) in 1866. Originally a part-time appointment, the importance of the post grew under a series of influential post-holders as the public health responsibilities of the Council increased. The first full-time MOH was appointed in 1897; by 1944, the MOH had a staff of about 40, including several doctors.

As well as the Council, two other bodies had minor public health roles during this period:

The Board of Guardians of the Bath Poor Law Union

From 1867 the Board of Guardians was responsible for administering vaccination to all infants, not just those in receipt of poor relief. The Council took over responsibility for all the functions of the Guardians, including vaccination, in 1930.

Magistrates’ Courts, mid-nineteenth to late twentieth centuries

Magistrates courts were responsible for hearing cases of offences against public health bye-laws and food standards legislation. Cases were brought by the Police on behalf of the Council.

1974 onwards: responsibilities split between various bodies

Major changes to local government and the National Health service took place in 1974, and responsibility for most public health functions were transferred from the Council to other bodies.

Water supply and sewers, 1974 to date: Wessex Water

In 1974, responsibility for water supply and sewers passed to Wessex Water, one of the ten regional water authorities set up at this date.

Environmental services, 1974 to date: Bath City Council/Bath & North East Somerset Council

Bath City Council (1974-1996) and its successor from 1996, Bath & North East Somerset Council, retained responsibility for environmental services such as waste collection, and for food standards.

Promotion of public health and health education, 1974-2012: Bath District Health Authority

Responsibility for almost all public health functions other than infrastructure passed from Bath City Council to Bath District Health Authority in 1974

Promotion of public health and health education, 2013 to date: Bath & North East Somerset Council

Under further changes to the NHS which came into force in 2013, responsibility for public health was returned from the NHS to the Council, and a Director of Public Health was appointed. However, the Council commissions rather than directly operates services.

Corporation [Council] Minutes. (Ref. BC/2/1/1)

Chamberlains’ Accounts (Ref. BC/5)

Title Deeds

Other sources

As well as the City Council, private companies and individuals supplied water to small areas of the city. Most of the records relating to these date from the late eighteenth century, but the following relate to a slightly earlier period:

Correspondence between John Wood and the Garrard family concerning the water supply to The Circus, 1754-1771. Photocopies of originals, location of originals now unknown (PP/508).
Deeds of the Circus Waterworks Company, 1758-1873 (0091).
Deeds and papers relating to the ‘Rivers Waterworks’ (supplying The Circus, Gay Street, Queen Square), 1758-1887 (0810/6).
The papers relating to the acquisition of the Holloway / Magdalen Hill waterworks by the City Council in the mid-nineteenth century include a small number of items dating from the 1740s-1760s (BC/7/1/6/10).

Books and other published sources

Council Minutes and Reports (BC/2/1)

Signed minutes of the full Council, 1631-1974 (BC/2/1/1)

The minutes of the full Council contain some references to water supply, but for the period after 1768 the easiest place to start looking for information on matters relating to the water supply is usually the minutes of the Waterworks Committee.

Signed minutes of the Waterworks Committee, 1768-1968 (with gaps) (BC/2/1/164)

The earliest volume to have survived starts in 1768, although from internal evidence it seems that there was at least one volume before this. The volume for 1850-1855 has similarly not survived. The minutes contain very detailed operational information, such as the names of those supplied and charges made; policy and strategic matters appear in the minutes only from the mid-twentieth century.

The Waterworks committee had several standing and special sub-committees:

General Purposes sub-committee, 1887-1905 (BC/2/1/165)
Odd Down Water Supply sub-committee, 1895 (BC/2/1/166)
Special sub-committee, 1938-1949 (BC/2/1/167)
Mendip Area sub-committee, 1950-1952 (BC/2/1/168)

In addition, there were two ad-hoc (temporary) water committees:

Water Supply Committee, 1868-1876 (BC/2/1/170)
Special Water Supply Committee, 1887 (BC/2/1/171)

Printed minutes of the Council and Committees, 1895-1974 (BC/2/178; available on open access in the searchroom)

These minutes are sometimes less detailed than the signed minutes, but contain indexes.

Reports to the Waterworks Committee, 1836-1935 (BC/2/1/169 and BC/7/1/2)

Two series of these reports are held: a series (presumably created by the Town Clerk) kept with the Council minutes (BC/2/1/169), and a series (probably created by the Waterworks Engineer) which has survived with the Waterworks records (BC/7/1/2) They include reports written by the Engineers and the Town Clerk and submitted to the various Waterworks committees of the Council, and those written by the Committees and submitted to the full Council. The Reports include detailed information and recommendations relating to administrative, legal and engineering matters.

Records of the City Waterworks (BC/7/1)

An extensive series of records, including:

Papers relating to the promotion and implementation of Waterworks Bills and Acts, 1846-1903 (BC/7/1/3-5, BC/7/1/7 and BC/7/1/9)

In order to extend the water supply to all parts of the city, the Council had to promote Bills in Parliament to enable it to raise the necessary funds and give it the powers to purchase land and obtain the rights to springs. The Bills might be opposed and fail or be amended; if successful (possibly with amendments), they resulted in Acts giving the Council the powers it required. The Council also opposed Bills promoted by other authorities which it believed damaged their own interests. The papers include the records created or collected by the Town Clerk for the promotion of the Bills in Parliament, records of the passing of the Bills, and detailed records relating to the subsequent execution of the works specified in the Acts. They consist of:

Records relating to the 1846 Bath Water Act (9 & 10 Vict. c.220), 1845-1876 (BC/7/1/3)
Records relating to the 1866 Bath Bill, 1865 -1867 (BC/7/1/4)
Although primarily focused on the city water supply, this Bill had a wider scope. It failed to comply with the standing orders of Parliament and was dismissed.
Records relating to the 1870 Bath Act (33 & 34 Vict. c.53), 1869-1876 (BC/7/1/5)
Records relating to the 1903 Bath Corporation Water Act (3 Edw. VII c.20), 1902-1930 (BC/7/1/9)
Records relating to the Council’s opposition to the 1887 West Gloucestershire Water Bill, 1887-1888 (BC/7/1/7)

Papers relating to the acquisition of private waterworks, 1740s-1888 (BC/7/1/6)

A number of private companies and individuals supplied water to parts of the city. The Council acquired these waterworks, mainly in the 1870s and 1880s, by various means.

Papers relating to the building of Monkswood Reservoir, 1893-1898 (BC/7/1/8)

The Council successfully applied to Local Government Board to borrow money and undertake building works for a reservoir.

Administrative and operational registers, 1772-1975 (BC/7/1/11)

A significant series of records, including:

Water rent books, 1772-1927 (BC/7/1/11/1)
These show the names and addresses of householders receiving a water supply and the amounts paid.
Registers of grants of right to join the water mains, 1777-1822 (BC/7/1/11/2)
Survey and report books, including records of the times when water supplies were turned on and off, and surveys of sizes of cisterns and number of water closets, records of faults and ‘abuses’, late C18-early C19 (BC/7/1/11/3-6)
Registers of rainfall, 1860-1965 (BC/7/1/11/9)
Spring gauging (also includes rainfall levels), 1891-1928 (BC/7/1/11/12)
Registers of trade water meter readings, 1932-1959 (BC/7/1/11/17)
Registers of average daily consumption of water, 1929-1962 (BC/7/1/11/18)
Engineers’ monthly reports (including yield of the springs, average daily consumption, state of the reservoirs, rainfall, and quality of water) 1951-1963 (BC/7/1/11/33)
Waste detection monthly reports, 1929-1948 (BC/7/1/11/24)
State of reservoirs and pumping, 1935-1980 (BC/7/1/11/28)
Repair orders, 1945-1969 (BC/7/1/11/30)
Accounting and financial records: materials and labour cost sheets, registers of materials outward and inward, wage sheets, 1929-1975 (BC/7/1/11/19-21, BC/7/1/11/23, BC/7/1/11/27)
Registers of correspondence inwards, 1943-1968 (BC/7/1/11/29)

Town Clerks’ papers relating to water supply, 1792-1957 (BC/7/1/1)

These records cover the whole range of administrative issues relating to the City waterworks, reflective of the wide-ranging role played by the Town Clerk at this time. The series includes:

Requests from the public for new and improved water supplies
Legal advice regarding disputes
Surveys and reports on the physical upkeep and maintenance of the works
Correspondence relating to finance and acquisition of legal powers
Plans showing the layout or intended layout of pipes and sources of water
Agreements to buy individual springs for use in supplying water

Individual items of particular interest in this series are:

A survey of water closets and associated papers, 1820-1832 (BC/7/1/1/4)
Specification for a Pumping Engine and Boiler, 1884 (BC/7/1/1/34A)

Correspondence and filing series, 1906-1974 (BC/7/1/12 - BC/7/1/16)

These contain a huge amount of information on a range of matters. There are several different series:

Waterworks Engineers’ correspondence files relating to the management and maintenance of the waterworks, 1928-1958 (BC/7/1/12).
Waterworks Office filing, predominantly operational and technical in nature relating to the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Waterworks, 1939-1974. (BC/7/1/13-14).
Waterworks Committee correspondence, filing series kept by the Town Clerk, predominantly relating to strategy and legal matters, 1903-1974 (BC/7/1/15-16).

Town Clerks’ general correspondence, 18th and early 19th centuries (BC/3/2)

A small number of documents among the Town Clerks’ general correspondence relates to water supply. They include:

Draft copy of Abstract of grant from the Commissioners under the Bath Improvement Act to the Corporation of springs of hot and cold water on the north side of Bath Street,1793 (BC/3/2/45/12)
A draft agreement for the supply of water and connection to a common sewer to two houses at rear of premises in Market Place, Bath, 1795 (BC/3/2/20)
Draft minutes relating to the dispute between the Corporation and John Symons respecting the springs of water on Beacon Hill, Walcot, Bath, 1797 (BC/3/2/24/5)
A plan showing the water pipes belonging to the Earl of Manvers and the Corporation c.1800 (BC/3/2/24/10)
The case for Lord Manvers' right to break up pitching at Abbey Gates and lay a water pipe to his house in Philip Street, 1810-1811 (BC/3/2/40)
A letter from B. Gaby to Philip George junior [town clerk] concerning the building of a wall at Beechen Cliff on Holloway Road, Bath. A request for the Corporation to contribute towards the building of the wall as it would aid the security of their water tanks,1833 (BC/3/2/1/2)

Town Clerk’s Letterbooks relating to Urban Sanitary Authority matters, 1878-1905 (BC/3/4)

Miscellaneous records relating to private waterworks

As well as the City Council, many private companies and individuals supplied water to small areas of the city.

Correspondence between John Wood and the Garrard family concerning the water supply to The Circus, 1754-1771 (photocopies of originals, PP/508)
Deeds of the Circus Waterworks Company, 1758-1873 (0091)
Deeds and papers relating to the ‘Rivers Waterworks’ (supplying The Circus, Gay Street, Queen Square), 1758-1887 (0810/6)
Leases relating to private water supplies, Walcot, 1787-1873 (0032/5)
Agreement for building a water reservoir in Somerset Place, with plan, 1810 (0054/27)
Agreement with the Combe Down Water Works Company Ltd. to supply water to Beechen Cliff estate, 1905 (0434/2)
Combe Down Waterworks Company Ltd: notes on the Company’s undertaking, including statement of land and machinery owned, brief history of sources of supply, and tabulated schedules of water mains, compiled for proposed re-amalgamation with Bath Waterworks, c. 1951 (0183/1)

Other records: local newspapers

Books and other published sources

Bath City Council Cold Water Committee. History and Present State of the City Waterworks, 1878 (PP/1489).

Richardson, L and Whitaker, W. Wells and Springs of Somerset (includes details on the source of domestic water supply to Bath Rural District), 1928 (PP/1405).

Booklet commemorating Bath City Council’s part of the Mendip Area Water Supply Scheme, 1957 (0172/7).

Hardy T. The Water Supply of Bath, 1975 (PP/1979/1).

Hardiman, Alan ‘Servicing the Houses of Bath 1714-1830: Water Supply’ in Bristol Industrial Archaeological Society Journal 27, 1994. pp.11-18 (PP/1837/1).

The Survey of Bath and District, no. 27, 2012. Includes article on the Combe Down Waterworks (PP/2169/27).

Clark, Mary and Huggins, Gill. Bathampton Down: a hill divided, 2017. Includes information on reservoirs and waterworks (PP/2580).

Records of public health infrastructure: drainage, street paving and other amenities, 1766-1850

In the second half of the eighteenth century the City Council needed to provide essential public amenities such as paved streets, lighting and ‘watching’ (police). It lacked the powers to do this itself, so set up ‘Commissions’ which could do so.

These Commissions, established by Acts of Parliament, covered small areas: Bath city centre (Acts of 1766, 1789 and 1814), Walcot (1793) and Bathwick (1801). The composition of each Commission varied slightly, but included representatives of the Council and of the parish(es) covered. The Bath Acts of 1766 and 1814, and the Walcot and Bathwick Acts, gave the Commissioners extensive powers and responsibilities over paving, cleaning and lighting of streets, and ensuring their drainage, the removal of ‘nuisances’ (rubbish), and ‘watching’ (policing). The Bath Improvement Act of 1789 was a little different, being concerned more with the built environment: it empowered the Commissioners to protect and secure the Hot Baths and Springs, rebuild the Pump Rooms, build new streets and widen existing ones, by compulsory purchase of premises if necessary.

Records of the Commissions

Excellent series of records for all of the Commissions have survived. They show how public amenities were provided, how the huge sums of money required were raised, and how the work was actually carried out. They throw light on the public health concerns of this period, which predates the era of sanitary reform, and provide insights into social conditions. The records of the Commissions include:

Minutes. These provide a very detailed record of the decisions and orders made by the Commissioners relating to improvements needed, giving specific details of each action to be taken. Not all the series of minutes are complete. Note that they do not include strategy or policy decisions, except occasionally by implication. A small number of miscellaneous papers for specific Commissions occasionally relate to strategic decisions; these are noted below in the sections on the individual Commissions.
Financial records. Again, these are very detailed, although not all series are complete. They include various types of account books recording income and expenditure, wages books and bills and receipts. For most of the Commissions they also include rate books which record the sums collected from householders, listed by name and address, levied according to the value of the property to pay for the work of the Commissions.
Administrative and operational records. These very detailed records include notice books (notices issued to householders for improvements to be made), survey books (reports of surveyors), watchmen’s duty, lamp and pitching report books, correspondence and other papers.

Records of the individual Commissions survive as follows:

Records of the Commissioners of the Bath Act 1766 (6 Geo. III c.70) and Bath Act 1814 (54 Geo. III, c.105), 1766-1851 (BC/22/2)

Minutes, 1766-1810 and 1814-1822 (BC/22/2/1)
Financial records, 1766-1851 (BC/22/2/3)
Administrative and operational records, 1766-1851 (BC/22/2/4 - BC/22/2/10 and BC/22/2/12-BC/22/2/14)
Proposed Bill for the extension of the Bath Act 1766 to include parts of Bathwick, c. 1790 (BC/22/2/11)
Statement of the defects of the 1766 Act and proposed amendments, c.1813 (BC/22/2/15)

Records of the Bath Improvement Act Commissioners 1789 (29 Geo. III c.73), 1678 -1851 (BC/22/3)

Minutes, 1789-1832 (BC/22/3/1)
Financial records, 1793-1851. As well as the usual series of records, these include detailed records of mortgage bonds: the Commission raised much of its funding by issuing mortgage bonds on the proceeds of turnpike tolls. Note that there are no rate books associated with this Commission, as it did not use rates to raise funds (BC/22/3/3)
Title Deeds, 1678-1825. The Commissioners purchased property in the city centre in order to carry out improvements. On purchase, they usually acquired the title deeds to the property, almost all of which pre-dated the formation of the Commission (BC/22/3/4)
Papers of the Clerk to the Bath Improvement Act, including papers relating to the development of the Act, 1789-1826 (BC/22/3/5)
Plans and elevations for building and street works, including Thomas Baldwin’s plans for the Pump Rooms and plans of the intended layouts for Stall Street, Bath Street, Cheap Street, and Union Street (BC/22/3/6)

Records of the Commissioners of the Walcot Act 1793 (33 Geo. III c. 89), 1793-1851 (BC/22/4)

Minutes, 1793-1815 and 1842-1847 (BC/22/4/1)
Financial records, 1793-1851 (BC/22/4/2)
Administrative and operational records, 1793-1849 (BC/22/4/4-BC/22/4/9 and BC/22/4/11)
Copy of a petition to Parliament from inhabitants of Walcot who were against the extension of the Walcot Act, 1825 (BC/22/4/10)

Records of the Commissioners of the Bathwick Act 1801 (41 Geo. III c.126), 1801-1851 (BC/22/5)

Minutes, 1835-1851 (BC/22/5/1)
Financial records, 1816-1831 (BC/22/5/2)
Administrative and operational records, 1817-1850 (BC/22/5/3-5)

Full catalogues for all the Commissions are available at https://somerset-cat.swheritage.org.uk/records/BNES/BC/22

Other Records: minutes of the City Council (BC/2/1/1/7-BC/2/1/1/16)

Other records: local Acts of Parliament (BC/1/2)

Other records: local newspapers

Local newspapers contain valuable information on the work of the Commissions, public attitudes towards them and the political differences they could provoke. They provide an alternative perspective to the official records. The Record Office holds various Bath newspapers, including the Bath Chronicle; details can be found in our newspapers research guide.

The online British Newspaper Archive (BNA) includes the weekly edition of the Bath Chronicle 1760-1950. The BNA enables targeted searches to be carried out, and is the best place to start research in the Chronicle. The Record Office offers free access to the BNA; please contact us for more information.

Records of public health infrastructure: sewers and drainage, 1851-1974 and environmental services, 1851 to date

The Public Health Act of 1848 permitted the setting up of ‘Local Boards of Health’ to tackle issues of basic public health infrastructure.

Bath City Council took the opportunity to constitute itself as the Local Board of Health for Bath by the Bath Act of 1851. Following the 1872 Public Health Act, it became the ‘Urban Sanitary Authority’ – successor to the Local Board of Health – for the city. From the early twentieth century the Council became directly responsible for public health.

As a consequence, almost all of the records relating to sewers, drainage and environmental services are to be found among the records of the Council. They are a rich resource for studying the development of sanitation in Bath, detailing the very lengthy struggles – political, practical and financial – to establish and maintain an effective sewerage system in the city.

Minutes of the Council and relevant committees

Minutes of the 1851 Bath Act Committee, 1851-1871 (BC/2/1/8)
Until 1871, all matters relating to the 1851 Bath Act were dealt with by the 1851 Bath Act Committee. The committee reported to the full Council.
Minutes of the Council acting as Urban Sanitary Authority, 1871-1905 (BC/2/1/5). A major change took place in 1871, when the 1851 Bath Act Committee was abolished, and its functions divided between the full Council meeting as the Urban Sanitary Authority (USA), which dealt with high-level matters, and two new committees, Sanitary and Surveying (see below), which dealt with operational matters.
Minutes of the full Council, 1905-1974 (BC/2/1/1/21-27). In 1905, the Council again changed the way in which it dealt with its public health responsibilities, and stopped holding separate meetings of the Council acting as Urban Sanitary Authority. The last meeting was held on 28 March 1905. From this date, all the Urban Sanitary Authority functions were dealt with at the quarterly meetings of whole council, with the Sanitary and Surveying Committees reporting to these meetings in the same way as other committees.
Minutes of the full Council, 1974-1996 (BC/2/2). In 1974, responsibility for sewers and drainage passed to Wessex Water, but the City Council retained responsibility for environmental services such as refuse collection. The meetings of full council for the period 1974-1996 are not yet catalogued in detail but are available on request.
Minutes of the full Council (Bath and North East Somerset), 1996 to date (BC/2/3). These minutes are not yet catalogued in detail but are available on request. Minutes from 1998 are available on the Bath & North East Somerset Council website.(link is external)
Minutes of the Surveying/Public Works Committee, 1871-1974 (BC/2/1/8/7-36). In 1871, this committee took over part of the detailed operational work of the 1851 Bath Act Committee. It dealt with pitching, paving, lighting, scavenging, watering streets and roads. The Surveying Committee was renamed the Public Works Committee in 1968.
Minutes of the Public Protection and Works/Environment Committee, 1974-1996 (BC/2/2). Successor to the Public Works Committee; its name changed in 1987. The minutes are not yet catalogued in detail but are available on request.
Minutes of the Sanitary/Health Committee, 1871-1974 (BC/2/1/8/7-22 and BC/2/1/9). In 1871, the Sanitary Committee took over part of the detailed operational work of the 1851 Bath Act Committee. It dealt with sewers, nuisances, slaughter houses, common lodging houses, smoke nuisances, offensive trades, and unwholesome food. From 1871 until 1906, the minutes of both the Sanitary and the Surveying Committees can be found in the same volume; from 1906, they are in separate volumes. The Sanitary Committee was renamed the Health Committee in 1920.
Sub-committees of the Sanitary and Surveying Committees, 1855-1968. A large number of permanent and ad-hoc sub-committees were set up to deal with specific aspects of the work of the committees. Some of the most significant are:
Sewers sub-committee, 1855-1868 (BC/2/1/11)
Sanitary subcommittee, 1881-1920 (BC/2/1/28) These minutes contain detailed information on sewers, drains and nuisances.
Scavenging and Cleansing Arrangements sub-committee, 1890-1926 (BC/2/1/19)
Street Improvement sub-committee, 1890-1914 (BC/2/1/20)

Other sub-committees can be found on our online catalogue (BC/2/1/10-BC/2/1/42)

Ad-hoc committees, 1892-1914

These committees were set up to deal with specific issues:

Rivers Pollution Prevention and Floods Committee, 1892-1900 (BC/2/1/44)
Sewage Disposal Committee, 1907-1916 (BC/2/1/46)
Printed minutes of the Council and Committees, 1895-1996 (available on open access in the searchroom). These minutes are sometimes less detailed than the signed minutes, but contain indexes and are the best starting point for research.

Records relating to sewers, drainage and floods, late nineteenth century to 1987 (BC/7/2)

Administrative and operational records relating to sewers and drainage, including plans. Some are currently catalogued as 0128, but this reference number will change to BC/7/2. Most are not yet catalogued in detail, but a list is available in the table below. Of particular note are:

Plans and papers relating to the work carried out by W H Radford and Son on the city sewers from the late nineteenth century to the mid twentieth century
A series of twentieth century filing on sewage disposal
Bath City Engineers Dept. Flood reports and related papers (current reference 0128/2/4, will change to BC/7/2)
Papers relating to a dispute with Bathavon Rural District Council concerning sewers
Levels of the Great Flood 25 Oct 1882. Volumes listing markings of the water levels (current reference 0128/2/2, will change to BC/7/2)
Papers relating to the River Avon, 1824-1880 (uncatalogued)

Sewerage and waste disposal records at Bath Record Office

Please note that access to some records is restricted in compliance with UK Data Protection legislation.


Title	Quantity	Description	Date
1. Weston & Locksbrook Land Drainage Scheme	1 box	17 Surveying Committee files (ref: S) containing correspondence with affected property owners.	1950s
		Large stack of plans identifying affected properties and recording ownership.	Post 1950
		Transfers of riparian ownership	1950s
2. Additional box of reports	1 box containing c.34 items	Printed reports relating to water supply, sewerage, river
3. Drainage Maps	2 large ring binders	Annotated OS sheets	Mid-20th century
4. Radford drainage plans	c.50 maps in 6 drawers	Large scale annotated OS sheets	c. 1900
5. Photos of Oldfield Park Storm Sewer	4 items	Mounted on boards for exhibition	1930s
6. Sewage Disposal (SD) and Surveying Committee Filing (SURV/SD and SURV)	73 files on 2 shelves	Committee filing relating to sewage disposal	1909-1987
7. Files and papers relating to dispute with Bath Rural District Council regarding sewers	1 filing basket	Some printed reports, some SURV/SD/ files re. purchase of land in Twerton. Some legal agreements with the Rural District Council. 1 outsize plan	c.1914-1931
8. Appointment of Radford	2 boxes	Agreements and reports re. the appointment of Radford as Consulting Engineers. Mix of numbered files (including SD/71 and S) various papers including legal documents, plans, printed reports, some duplicates and large technical report on Bath sewerage.	1950s
9. Statements and reports	1 box	Copies of statements and reports for surveying committee. Many duplicates.
10. Late 1960s scheme	1 box	Box compiled in late 1960s at time of proposed new scheme, including much earlier reports on sewage and sewerage disposal. Wessex Water Authority, Bristol and Avon Sewage Division Interim report of working parties September 1973. Specification for reconstruction of main interceptor sewer Spring Gardens Road and Grove Street. Folder of plans re. reconstruction (SD/72/3).	1960s-1970s with earlier material
11. Filing	1 cardboard folder containing 10 files	Probably an individual officer's filing, possibly City Treasurer, re. sewerage, water pollution control lab, roads	c.1970s
12. Radford Sewer Plans,	43 tracing paper rolls. 10 grey map boxes (new), 1 large paper roll	Routes and sections. It is possible not all these plans are by Radford.
13. River Avon	2 large ‘Bryant’ boxes	Flooding and pollution	c.19th century
Sewage Disposal
14. Twerton Pumping Station Record volume	1 volume
Sewage Contracts	2 large boxes		1910-1915
Plans	2 volumes		1915
Press cuttings and other records	1 large box	Sewage disposal and locations of sewage depots and yards 1930. Reports.	1930s
15. Photographic prints of Radford plans	2 boxes	1 box mounted on boards, one box loose with additional glass plate negatives
	1 box containing 2 small boxes	Glass plate negatives of Radford plans	mid-twentieth century

Records relating to waste disposal, c.1880-1968 (BC/7/3)

Town Clerk’s Letterbooks relating to Urban Sanitary Authority matters, 1878-1905 (BC/3/4)

Building Regulations records c.1860 to date (BC/8/7)

Records of funding appeals for flood relief made by the Mayors of Bath, 1875-1968 (BC/9/3)

Records of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Courts, mid-nineteenth to late twentieth centuries (0136 and uncatalogued)

Those charged with contravening public health bye-laws and regulations appeared before the magistrates at Petty Sessions. However, the magistrates dealt with very many other types of case, and the registers are indexed by name not offence. The researcher will therefore need to spend a considerable amount of time searching the volumes for public health offences. Note that access to registers and papers less than 85 years old is restricted under UK data protection law.

Petty Sessions registers and depositions, mid C19 – late C20 (0136; catalogue incomplete)
Police prosecution case papers, from 1905 (BC/3/5, but not yet catalogued in detail). The first two boxes of these papers, covering the years 1905-1910 have been indexed by type of case as well as by name; the index is available on request.

Miscellaneous

Local Acts of Parliament (BC/1/2)

Local newspapers

Local newspapers contain valuable information on the work of the Council in providing public health infrastructure, public attitudes towards their work and the political differences they could provoke. They provide an alternative perspective to the official records. The Record Office holds various Bath newspapers, including the Bath Chronicle; details can be found in our research guide to newspapers.

The online British Newspaper Archive (BNA) includes the weekly edition of the Bath Chronicle 1760-1950. The BNA enables targeted searches to be carried out, and is the best place to start research in the Chronicle. The Record Office offers free access to the BNA; for more information please contact us.

Books and other published sources

Captain Rowland Mainwaring, Annals of Bath, from the year 1800 to the passing of the New Municipal Act, 1838; includes references to floods of 1809 1821, 1823 and 1828 (PP/1212).

Health of Towns Commission. Henry de la Beche, Report on the State of Bristol and other large towns [including Bath], 1845 Also includes the first and second annual reports of the Bath branch of the Health of Towns Association. (Local Studies Collection, 1 1 0260517 4).

Health of Towns Association. Broadsheet ‘To the Inhabitants of Bath, especially the Industrious Classes’; gives notice a public meeting to propose a petition to the ‘Legislature’. February 1847. (Local Studies ref. 1 1 0419089 0).

‘Sanitary Conditions of Bath’: a number of pamphlets bound together, probably fairly soon after publication. Includes the first annual report of the Bath branch of the Health of Towns association; A Report on the Sanitary Condition of the City and Borough of Bath during the years 1867 and 1868 by C S Barter MOH; ‘The Wants of Bath’ by A Resident (S Sneade Brown), 1867, with copies of letters to the Bath Chronicle on the subject of water supply and sewers; ‘What Can Be Done? A Sequel to the The Wants Of Bath’, by S Sneade Brown, 1867; ‘How We Are Governed In Bath. A Sequel to the Wants of Bath and What Can be Done’ by S Sneade Brown, 1867; Memorial Relating to the Lansdown Water Supplies, 1868; Report on the purity of the Bath Water Supply, 1868; Report of the Cold Water Committee on the memorial on the Lansdown water supply. 1868 (Local Studies collection, 1 1 0260472 0).

Hatt, Alderman H T, Bath Sewerage and Sewage Disposal Scheme. Notes upon the history and progress of the scheme. Issued in connection with the opening of the works, 1914. Also includes ‘Description of Sewerage and Sewage Disposal Works’ by W H Radford (BC/7/2).

R Angus Buchanan ‘The Floods of Bath’ in Bath History vol. VII (1998).

Book of newscuttings on Bath Floods (Local Studies Collection, B551.57 BAT).

Reprints from newspapers concerning floods:

Reprint from the Bath Herald ‘A Record of the Great Flood in Bath and the surrounding district, Oct 25 1882’. Includes notes on floods of 1809, 1823 & 1866 (PP/219).

Reprint from the Bath Chronicle of 15 and 17 November 1894, 2nd special floods edition. Illustrated supplement. (PP/220).

Reprint from the Bath Herald ‘Record of the Great floods in Bath’, 13 and 15 November 1894 (PP/2010).

The Great '68 Flood Copies of 'Bristol Evening Post' newspaper articles on 'The Great Flood of 1968' relating to Bath, Bedminster, Brislington, Cheddar, Frome, Keynsham and Pensford (PP/2288).

Records of health promotion and prevention of disease, 1866 to date

From the mid-nineteenth century until 1974 Bath City Council played a major role in health promotion and the prevention of disease, as various public health acts were passed which gave it responsibility or permission to act in a wide range of areas.

By the early twentieth century, the Council was responsible for midwives and maternal, infant and child health, mental health, isolation hospitals, food standards, baths and washhouses and much more. Most of these aspects of public health remained the responsibility of the Council until 1974, when the majority passed to the Bath District Health Authority. In 2013 many returned to Bath & North East Somerset Council, but on a commissioning basis. The following records provide valuable information for research in this area.

Bath City Council Minutes, 1851-1974 (BC/2/1)

Minutes of the 1851 Bath Act Committee/Sanitary Committee/Health Committee, 1851-1974 (BC/2/1/8/1-22 and BC/2/1/9). The 1851 Bath Act Committee dealt with all matters relating to public health from 1851 to 1871; from 1871 most of the work of health promotion and prevention of disease passed to the newly-established Sanitary Committee. The name of this committee changed to Health Committee in 1920, reflecting the change in emphasis in its duties by this date.

A number of sub-committees, some permanent and some ad-hoc, dealt with specific matters:

Statutory Hospital/Isolation Hospital sub-committee, 1900-1948 (BC/2/1/33)
Midwives/Maternity and Child Welfare sub-committee, 1918-1958 (BC/2/1/37)
Blind Persons sub-committee, 1934-1948 (BC/2/1/40)
Health Services sub-committee, 1958-1968 (BC/2/1/42)
Joint Committee of Health and Public Assistance Committees concerning Hospital Services, 1940-1948 (BC/2/1/47)
Registration of nurses sub-committee, 1893 (BC/2/1/29)
Disinfection sub-committee, 1896-1897 (BC/2/1/31)
Emergency (Smallpox) sub-committee, 1902 (BC/2/1/34)
Tuberculosis sub-committee, 1913-1915 (BC/2/1/36)
Nurseries sub-committee of Maternity and Child Welfare sub-committee, 1940-1944 (BC/2/1/38)

Minutes of the Lunatic Asylum Committee, 1872-1876 (BC/2/1/122)
Minutes of the Mental Deficiency Act Committee/Mental Health Services sub-committee of Health Committee, 1914-1967 (BC/2/1/123)
Minutes of the Mental Treatment Act Committee, 1930-1948 (BC/2/1/124)
Minutes of the Public Bathing Places Committee, 1867-1872 (BC/2/1/145)
(Amalgamated with Cold Water Committee, 1873)
Minutes of the Baths and Washhouses Special Committee, 1921-1926 (BC/2/58)
Minutes of the Swimming Facilities/Sports Facilities Committee, 1937-1968 (BC/2/1/156)

Reports of the Bath City Medical Officer of Health (MOH), 1866 – 1974 (BC/14)

Clerk to Bath Urban Sanitary Authority in-letters and out-letters, 1878-1905 (BC/3/4/2 and BC/3/4/6)

Other Bath City Council records, 1851-1951

Registers relating to food and hygiene regulations (BC/3/6/1-4). Registers of slaughter houses, 1851-1930 (BC/3/6/1). Registers of margarine and butter manufactories, 1900-1931 (BC/3/6/2). Registration of Premises under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1928, 1929 (BC/3/6/3). Licences issued under the Milk (Special Designations) Order 1936, 1937-1944 (BC/3/6/4)
Public Analyst’s register of foodstuff samples, 1920-1951 (BC/14)
Papers relating to the creation of the isolation hospital, 1871-1872 (BC/14)
Printed guides to the Public Health Services of Bath City, 1932 (Local Studies Collection), 1939 (BC/14), 1948 (Local Studies Collection)
Registers of payments made to tuberculosis patients, 1945-1947 (BC/17). These name individuals and the amount paid. Access is restricted under UK data protection law. They are not yet catalogued in detail.
Papers relating to Public Bath and Washhouses, 1846-1901 (BC/13/8). A small amount of material, including papers relating to Darlington Wharf and Cleveland Pools.

Records of Bath District Health Authority, 1974-1994 (0396)

Records of Bath District Community Health Council, 1974-2003 (0580)

Community Health Councils were set up under the National Health Service reforms of 1974. They were designed to act as a public ‘watchdog’ and mouthpiece with regard to the services provided by the District Health Authorities, including their public health functions. Members were appointed by local authorities and local voluntary organisations, with a small number from the Regional Health Authority. Community Health Councils were abolished in 2003. The records are not yet catalogued, but include:

Council agendas and minutes
Annual reports
Reports and papers relating to specific projects

Access to some material may be restricted under UK data protection law.

Records of Bath & North East Somerset Council Director of Public Health, 2013 to date

Records of Other bodies

Bath Board of Guardians: vaccination records, 1871-1928 (BGB/5). The Board of Guardians was responsible for the vaccination of all infants, not just those in receipt of poor relief. The registers and report books, arranged by district, record child’s name, parents' names, address and father's occupation, date and success of the vaccination, or whether vaccination refused. Access to later volumes is restricted for 100 years from date of last entry under UK data protection law.

Petty Sessions: Police Prosecutions, mid-nineteenth to late twentieth centuries (0136 and BC/3/5). Those charged with contravening food and hygiene and other public health bye-laws and regulations appeared before the magistrates at Petty Sessions. However, the magistrates dealt with very many other types of case, and the registers are indexed by name not offence. The researcher will therefore need to spend a considerable amount of time searching the volumes for public health offences. Note that access to registers and papers less than 85 years old is restricted under UK data protection law.
Petty Sessions registers and depositions, mid C19 – late C20 (0136; catalogue incomplete)
Police prosecution case papers, from 1905 (BC/3/5, but not yet catalogued in detail). The first two boxes of these papers, covering the years 1905-1910 have been indexed by type of case as well as by name; the index is available on request.

Association of Public Health Inspectors, Western Centre [Area], 1938-1966 (0960). Minutes of the Association, which included Bath.

Local Acts of Parliament (BC/1/2)

Newspapers

Local newspapers contain valuable information on the work of the Council in promoting public health and on public attitudes towards their work, providing an alternative perspective to the official records. They also frequently provide reports of cases brought before the magistrates. The Record Office holds various Bath newspapers, including the Bath Chronicle; details can be found in our research guide to newspapers.

The online British Newspaper Archive (BNA) includes the weekly edition of the Bath Chronicle 1760-1950. The BNA enables targeted searches to be carried out and is the best place to start research in the Chronicle. The Record Office offers free access to the BNA; for more information please contact us.

Name	Details
BC/3/4/6/1 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 1 Jan 1892-17 Oct 1892	PDF, 220 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/2 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 4 Oct 1892-21 Feb 1893	PDF, 240 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/3 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 28 Feb 1893-28 June 1893	PDF, 272 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/4 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 30 Jun 1893-27 Oct 1893	PDF, 232 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/5 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 27 Oct 1893-19 Jan 1894	PDF, 240 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/6 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 20 Jan-27 Apr 1894	PDF, 260 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/7 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book May-Oct 1894	PDF, 279 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/8 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book Nov 1894-23 Mar 1895	PDF, 255 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/9 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 23 Mar 1895-Jul 1895	PDF, 255 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/10 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 1 Aug 1895-30 Nov 1895	PDF, 249 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/11 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book Dec 1895-1 Apr 1896	PDF, 228 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/12 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 3 Apr 1896- 13 May 1896	PDF, 224 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/13 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book Jun-Jul 1896	PDF, 228 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/14 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 1 Aug-21 Sep 1896	PDF, 224 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/15 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book Oct-Dec 1896	PDF, 241 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/16 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book Jan 1897-24 Feb 1897	PDF, 219 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/17 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 3 Mar 1897-21 Apr 1897	PDF, 232 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/18 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book May-14 Jun 1897	PDF, 207 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/19 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book Jul-Oct 1897	PDF, 213 KB	Download
BC/3/4/6/20 Urban Sanitary Authority In-Letter Book 11 Oct-31 Dec 1897	PDF, 208 KB	Download

Explore Bath's world heritage

Other things to do in Bath

Public health

Bath Record Office holds a wide range of material relating to the history of public health.

Until the third quarter of the twentieth century, responsibility for public health lay almost entirely with Bath City Council or bodies closely linked to it. Since 1974, responsibility has been more widely shared.

Bath City Council provided a piped water supply from at least the sixteenth century, first to the city centre and later to a far wider area.

From the mid-eighteenth century, an increasing quantity of records help to tell the story of the Council’s role in the supply of piped water to the city.

In the second half of the eighteenth century the City Council needed to provide essential public amenities such as paved streets, lighting and ‘watching’ (police). It lacked the powers to do this itself, so set up ‘Commissions’ which could do so.

The Public Health Act of 1848 permitted the setting up of ‘Local Boards of Health’ to tackle issues of basic public health infrastructure.

Sewerage and waste disposal records at Bath Record Office

From the mid-nineteenth century until 1974 Bath City Council played a major role in health promotion and the prevention of disease, as various public health acts were passed which gave it responsibility or permission to act in a wide range of areas.

As part of our ongoing work to catalogue the Bath City Council records, a Record Office volunteer has been working on the Town Clerks' In-Letter Books relating to matters dealt with by the Council acting as the Urban Sanitary Authority.

Explore Bath's world heritage

Explore Bath's world heritage

Other things to do in Bath

Public health

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