Following typhoid epidemics in British cities in 1837 and 1838, the government commissioned the reformer Edwin Chadwick to undertake an enquiry into sanitation in major urban areas. His report concluded that the living conditions of the poor wer urgently in need of improvement. As a response to this report, therefore, the government set up a Royal Commission on the Health of Towns. Its remit was to make a thorough investigation of the sanitary conditions of 50 British towns, and it reported back to the government over the following two years. It recommended that a new governmental department be set up to deal with these issues, and that within each locality, responsibility for drainage, paving and clean water be brought together in a single body.
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Royal Commission on the Health of Towns". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4859, accessed 06 May 2024.]
