Memorial to Sir Joseph Bazalgette on Victoria Embankment

Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (28 March 1819 – 15 March 1891) was one of the great English civil engineers of the Victorian era. As the chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation of a sewer network for central London, which helped relieve the city from cholera epidemics, while beginning the clean-up of the River Thames, which had reached a nadir with "The Great Stink" of 1858. Download high resolution version (547x627, 64 KB)photo by lonpicman File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (547x627, 64 KB)photo by lonpicman File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This is a list of civil engineers, people who were trained in or practiced civil engineering. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her ascension to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of London-wide government from 1855 until the establishment of the London County Council in 1889. ... The new Abbey Mills Pumping Station The original Abbey Mills pumping station The London sewerage system is part of the water infrastructure serving London. ... Cholera (or Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is an extreme diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ... Several places exist with the name Thames, and the word is also used as part of several brand and company names Most famous is the River Thames in England, on which the city of London stands Other Thames Rivers There is a Thames River in Canada There is a Thames... Michael Faraday giving his card to Father Thames, caricature commenting on a letter of Faradays on the state of the river in the Times in Summer 1855 The Great Stink or The Big Stink was a time in the summer of 1858 during which the smell of untreated sewage... Year 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Beginnings

Joseph Bazalgette was born in Enfield, London, England, the son of a captain in the Royal Navy and grandson of a French immigrant. He began his career working on railway projects, articled to noted engineer Sir John MacNeill and gaining sufficient experience (some in Northern Ireland) in land drainage and reclamation works for him to set up his own London consulting practice in 1842. By the time he married, in 1845, Bazalgette was deeply involved in the expansion of the railway network, working so hard that he suffered a nervous breakdown two years later. The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... Sir John Benjamin Macneill (1792/3 - 2 March 1880) was an eminent Irish civil engineer of the 19th century, closely associated with Thomas Telford. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Land reclamation is either of two distinct practices. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

While he was recovering, London's shortlived Metropolitan Commission of Sewers ordered that all cesspits should be closed and that house drains should connect to sewers and empty into the Thames. As a result, a cholera epidemic (1848-49) then killed 14,137 Londoners. The Metropolitan Commission of Sewers was one of Londons first steps towards bringing its sewer and drainage infrastructure under the control of a single public body. ... A cesspit, or cesspool,(also known as zesspit or zesspool) is a pit, conservancy tank, or covered cistern, which can be used for sewage or refuse. ... Cholera (or Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is an extreme diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ...

Bazalgette was appointed assistant surveyor to the Commission in 1849, taking over as Engineer in 1852, after his predecessor died of "harassing fatigues and anxieties." Soon after, another cholera epidemic struck, in 1853, killing 10,738. Medical opinion at the time held that cholera was caused by foul air: a so-called miasma. Dr John Snow had earlier advanced a different explanation, which we now know to be correct: cholera was spread by contaminated water. His view was not generally accepted. Year 1849 (MDCCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The miasmatic theory of disease held that diseases such as cholera or the Black Death were caused by a miasma (Greek language: pollution), a noxious form of bad air. In general, this concept has been supplanted by the more scientifically founded germ theory of disease. ... Dr. John Snow John Snow (16 March 1813 – 16 June 1858) was a British physician and a leader in the adoption of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. ...

Championed by fellow engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Bazalgette was appointed chief engineer of the Commission's successor, the Metropolitan Board of Works, in 1856 (a post he retained until the MBW was abolished and replaced by the London County Council in 1889). In 1858, the year of the Great Stink, Parliament passed an enabling act, in spite of the colossal expense of the project, and Bazalgette's proposals to revolutionise London's sewerage system began to be implemented. The expectation was that enclosed sewers would eliminate the stink ('miasma'), and thus reduce the incidence of cholera. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) (IPA: ), was a British engineer. ... The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of London-wide government from 1855 until the establishment of the London County Council in 1889. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... London County Council emblem is still seen today on buildings, especially housing, from that era London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London from 1889 until 1965, when it was replaced by the Greater London Council. ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Great Stink or The Big Stink was a time in the summer of 1858 during which the smell of untreated sewage almost overwhelmed people in central London. ... The miasmatic theory of disease held that diseases such as cholera or the Black Death were caused by a miasma (Greek language: pollution), a noxious form of bad air. In general, this concept has been supplanted by the more scientifically founded germ theory of disease. ... Cholera (or Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is an extreme diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ...

Sewer works

The old Abbey Mills Pumping Station

At the time, the Thames was little more than an open sewer, devoid of any fish or other wildlife, and an obvious health hazard to Londoners. Bazalgette's solution (similar to a proposal made by painter John Martin 25 years earlier) was to construct 83 miles of underground brick main sewers to intercept sewage outflows, and 1,100 miles of street sewers, to intercept the raw sewage which up until then flowed freely through the streets and thoroughfares of London. The outflows were diverted downstream where they were dumped, untreated, into the Thames. Extensive sewage treatment facilities were only built decades later. Abbey Mills Pumping Station, East London, UK Image by Atelier Joly November 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Abbey Mills Pumping Station, East London, UK Image by Atelier Joly November 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Several places exist with the name Thames, and the word is also used as part of several brand and company names Most famous is the River Thames in England, on which the city of London stands Other Thames Rivers There is a Thames River in Canada There is a Thames... The Great Day of His Wrath, c. ... For other uses, see Brick (disambiguation). ... A sewer is an artificial conduit or system of conduits used to remove sewage (human liquid waste) and to provide drainage. ... Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater, both runoff and domestic. ...

The scheme involved major pumping stations at Deptford (1864) and at Crossness (1865) on the Erith marshes, both on the south side of the Thames, and at Abbey Mills (in the River Lea valley, 1868) and on the Chelsea Embankment (close to Grosvenor Bridge; 1875), north of the river. Pumping station Van Sasse in Grave, the Netherlands Pumping station Van Sasse in Grave, the Netherlands Pumping stations are facilities including pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. ... This article is about the district in London. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Crossness Pumping Station was built by Sir Joseph Bazalgette as part of his redevelopment of Londons main sewerage system. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... , Erith (pronounced ) is a place in the London Borough of Bexley, south east London on the River Thames, United Kingdom. ... The old Abbey Mills Pumping Station The original Abbey Mills Pumping Station, in Abbey Lane, London E15, is a sewerage pumping station designed by Joseph Bazalgette and Edmund Cooper and was built between 1865 and 1868. ... This article is not about the River Lee that flows through Cork, in the Republic of Ireland; see River Lee (Ireland). ... Year 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Chelsea Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and walkway along the north bank of the River Thames in central London. ... Grosvenor Bridge with Battersea Power Station in the background Grosvenor Bridge, often alternatively called Victoria Railway Bridge, is a railway bridge over the River Thames in London, between Vauxhall Bridge and Chelsea Bridge. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

The system was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1865, although the whole project was not actually completed for another ten years. Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Bazalgette's foresight may be seen in the diameter of the sewers. When planning the network he took the most dense population, gave every person the most generous allowance of sewage production and came up with a diameter of pipe needed. He then said 'Well, we're only going to do this once and there's always the unforeseen.' and doubled the diameter to be used. Every Londoner should be grateful for this foresight as the unforeseen was the tower block. If he had used his original, smaller pipe diameter the sewer would have overflowed in the 1960s. As it is they are still in use to this day.

The effect of the new sewer system was to reduce cholera not only in places that no longer stank, but wherever water supplies ceased to be contaminated by sewage. The basic premise of this expensive project was wrong, as so often happens, but the end result was much better than expected, which is a rare occurrence. (The River Thames now contains several smaller varieties of fish, including trout; it is also safe to swim in - for those willing to brave the frigid waters and able to find a stretch without undertow!). Cholera (or Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is an extreme diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ... Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss Biwa trout (or Biwa salmon), Oncorhynchus masou rhodurus Trout is the common name given to a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the salmon family, Salmonidae. ... Look up undertow in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Awards

Bazalgette was knighted in 1875, and elected President of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1883. The Institutions headquarters Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineers. ...

Memorials

He lived for some years at 17 Hamilton Terrace, St John's Wood, north London, where there is now a blue plaque in his honour. St Johns Wood is a district of North London, England in the City of Westminster, near Regents Park. ... A blue plaque showing information about The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey in Torquay. ...

He later moved to Morden, then in 1873, with his wife, six sons and four daughters, to Arthur Road in Wimbledon, where he died in 1891, being buried in nearby St Mary's churchyard. Morden is a place in the London Borough of Merton. ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... , This article is about the district of London. ...

A formal monument (see photo above) on the riverside of the Victoria Embankment in central London commemorates Bazalgette's genius.

A living fictionalised tribute to the genius, the work and the ideals of Sir Joseph Bazalgette can be found in the historic Victorian novel "The Worms of Euston Square" by William Sutton. This portrays Sir Joseph Bazalgette in a heroic light as a man with an innate social conscience who employs his skills to improve the city that he loves and who plays an active role in rehousing those whose homes were demolished during the enormous work of construction.

Other works

• Albert Embankment (1869)
• Victoria Embankment (1870)
• Chelsea Embankment (1874)
• Putney Bridge (1886)
• Albert Bridge (1884; modifications)
• Hammersmith Bridge (1887)
• The Woolwich Ferry (1889)
• Battersea Bridge (1890)
• Charing Cross Road
• Garrick Street
• Northumberland Avenue
• Shaftesbury Avenue
• early plans for the Blackwall Tunnel (1897)
• proposal for what later became Tower Bridge

The Albert Embankment is a stretch of the river bank on the south side of the River Thames in central London. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Victoria Embankment, London The Victoria Embankment, previously the Thames Embankment is a road and walkway along the north bank of the River Thames in London in the cities of Westminster and London. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Chelsea Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and walkway along the north bank of the River Thames in central London. ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Putney Bridge Putney Bridge is a bridge crossing of the River Thames in west London, linking Putney on the south side with Fulham to the north. ... Year 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Albert Bridge - note the central supports at the mid-point of the span, installed in the 1970s to ease the suspension load. ... Year 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Modification is the act of applying change to an original. ... Hammersmith Bridge, seen from the Westminster to Kew tourist boat Rowing crews racing under Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith Bridge is a crossing of the River Thames in west London, just south of the Hammersmith town centre area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham on the north side of the... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... The Woolwich Ferry is a boat service across the River Thames, London, UK, which is operated by the London Borough of Greenwich, and licensed and financed by London River Services, the maritime arm of Transport for London. ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Battersea Bridge with crowds along it watching the River Thames whale Battersea Bridge looking downstream from Chelsea. ... Year 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... Charing Cross Road, London, looking North from its junction with Long Acre. ... Northumberland Avenue is a London street, running from Trafalgar Square in the west to The Embankment in the east. ... Shaftesbury Avenue is a major London street, named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, that runs in a north-easterly direction from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. ... The Blackwall Tunnel is the name given to a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, linking the London Borough of Greenwich with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... For the bridge of the same name in California, see Tower Bridge (California). ...

Notable descendants

• Peter Bazalgette (great-great-grandson).
• Ian Bazalgette (great grandson)

Peter Bazalgette is the greatgrandson of 19th century civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette. ... Gravesite Ian Willoughby Bazalgette, VC , DFC, (October 19, 1918 - August 4, 1944), was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

External links

• [* BBC biography The Joseph Bazalgette Appreciation Society on Facebook]
• BBC biography
• Newcomen Society paper
• Battersea Bridge
• Crossness Pumping Station
• Bazalgette family tree
• Bazalgette's appearance in Victorian fiction (audio!)
• Bazalgette's appearance in Victorian fiction (video!)

References

• The Great Stink of London: Sir Joseph Bazalgette and the Cleansing of the Victorian Capital - Stephen Halliday, Stroud, Gloucestershire : Sutton Pub., c1999 ISBN 0-7509-1975-2

• Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (1819-1891): Engineer to the Metropolitan Board of Works - D P Smith: Transactions of the Newcomen Society, 1986-87 Vol 58.

• London in the Nineteenth Century: A Human Awful Wonder of God - Jerry White, London : Jonathan Cape 2006.