The Great Stink

The Great Stink: The River Thames was always London’s main water supply, but by the 1800s it was basically London’s biggest toilet and it stank! Streets were filthy and cholera was rife, with thousands dying from the disease. Matters came to a head in 1858 and Parliament finally decreed that something had to be done. Enter Joseph Bazalgette, engineer and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Board of Works, and his plan to build a network of sewers under London’s streets. Discover the story of the Great Stink and how one man’s vision and feat of engineering genius cleaned up the streets, cleaned up the Thames, eradicated cholera and saved thousands of lives.

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