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Medieval towns had problems with public health. Filthy streets and poor sanitation provided the perfect conditions for the spread of disease.

Town conditions

When the Romans conquered Britain in the 1st century, they built extensive public health facilities, such as public baths, toilets, fountains and sewers. After they left, these facilities fell into disrepair or were deliberately destroyed by people who wanted to remove the remains of the Roman Empire. This had serious consequences for public health throughout the medieval period.

Causes of problems - toilets

In medieval times in London, public toilets were built on a bridge over the River Thames, so the waste would be washed away from the city. However, some homes had toilets that emptied directly onto the street below. Other households simply used a bucket and threw the waste into the street.

Wealthier individuals sometimes paid for their own toilets to be built. These led to a pit that would be emptied by a gongfermer. The waste was supposed to be taken outside the town or city walls. However, gongfermers would sometimes empty the waste into the river or dispose of it in another part of the town. The consequence of these toilets was that a lot of human waste ended up being dumped on the streets of towns and cities, contributing to the spread of disease.

Causes of problems - butchers

Butchers were allowed to slaughter animals in towns and cities. They would dump waste they could not sell in the streets or the river. Open drains ran down the middle of streets. This washed waste down into rivers. However, if there was a dry summer, this waste would be left in the streets.

The poor conditions attracted rats. This eventually contributed to the spread of the Black Death in the 14th century.

Attempted solutions

Punishments

Authorities tried to clean up towns and cities. Throughout Britain, punishments were introduced to try to stop people dumping rubbish in the streets.

• In 1309, a 40p fine - the equivalent of approximately £400 in 2021 - was introduced for anyone dumping rubbish in the street.
• Butchers were banned from slaughtering animals in the street.

New jobs

In London, new jobs were created to try to make improvements to the poor and unsanitary conditions in the city.

• Gongfermers had the job of emptying out cesspits. They would dig the sewage out and were supposed to take it out of the city on a horse and cart. Sometimes they would just dump the waste somewhere else.
• Muck rakers were a bit like street cleaners. They were paid to remove waste from streets.
• Surveyors of the pavement were employed to remove rubbish and waste from pavements.