Sir Joseph Bazalgette (1819-1891) And the Cleansing of the Victorian Metropolis - Stephen Halliday

0:00 // Introduction — Thomas Crapper, Hellmann's mayonnaise and why the word "crap" is Shakespearean 4:10 // Sir Joseph Bazalgette — the man who saved London 5:59 // Cholera, Faraday's letter and the theory that bad smells caused disease 8:38 // The Great Stink of 1858 — parliament acts out of self-preservation 9:48 // London's hidden rivers and how the cesspool system collapsed 12:18 // The water closet — from Queen Elizabeth I to the Great Exhibition 15:22 // Bazalgette's solution — the intercepting sewer system explained 16:04 // Benjamin Hall and the political battle to get it built 18:26 // Construction begins — 318 million bricks and 82 miles of new sewers 20:42 // The outfall sewer and Abbey Mills pumping station 23:16 // The system in use — and how modern sewage treatment works 27:33 // The Victoria, Albert and Chelsea embankments 33:02 // New streets, bridges and Bazalgette's other works 36:42 // Tower Bridge — Bazalgette's proposal and what was actually built 37:58 // Why Bazalgette was forgotten — and the Blue Peter badge 42:03 // The verdict — his sewers added 20 years to the average London life 43:05 // The Thames Tideway Tunnel — why Bazalgette's system is no longer enough 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sir Joseph Bazalgette, and will see the building of the first major addition to the system he created to prevent sewage entering the Thames. The Thames Tideway Tunnel is now finally making its way 16 miles beneath the course of the river from Acton to the Thames Estuary, to intercept storm water which would otherwise enter the Thames. The illustrated lecture will examine Bazalgette’s achievement and the work involved in building this latest addition to it. This lecture was recorded by Stephen Halliday on the 9th of October 2019 Stephen Halliday is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster with a particular interest in Victorian London and in the engineers who made nineteenth century cities safe and habitable. He has written for The Observer, The Guardian and The Financial Times and has made several radio and television programmes based on his books. He also writes and reviews regularly for BBC History, The Literary review, The Times Higher and The Daily Telegraph. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/b... Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham College's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involve... Website: https://gresham.ac.uk X: https://x.com/GreshamCollege Facebook:   / greshamcollege   Instagram:   / greshamcollege   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/greshamcolle... TikTok:   / greshamcollege   Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involve...