Local board of health facts for kids
Local boards were special groups set up in towns and cities across England and Wales between 1848 and 1894. Think of them as early local governments focused on keeping people healthy. They were created because of serious diseases like cholera that spread easily in dirty conditions.
These boards had important jobs. They managed sewers, cleaned streets, and made sure people had clean water. They also looked after places like slaughterhouses to prevent health risks. Over time, these local boards either joined up with town councils (called municipal boroughs) or changed into new groups called urban districts by 1894.
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act for promoting the Public Health. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 31 August 1848 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Contents
Improving Public Health: The 1848 Act
The first local boards were created by a law called the Public Health Act 1848. This law aimed to make towns and crowded places in England and Wales much healthier. It brought many important services under one local group. These services included water supply, sewers, drainage, cleaning, and paving. It also covered rules for keeping the environment healthy.
This law applied to most places in England and Wales. However, it did not cover the City of London and some parts of London. Those areas already had their own special groups managing sewers.
The Whig government, led by Lord John Russell, passed this Act. They were encouraged by a man named Edwin Chadwick. Reports from a Royal Commission (a special government committee) and local health groups showed how bad conditions were in many UK cities. This pushed the government to act.
The General Board of Health
The 1848 Act also set up a central group called the General Board of Health. This board was in charge of making sure the new law was followed. It had three leaders. One was the head of government buildings and lands. The other two were chosen by special permission.
This board was supposed to last for five years. But new laws were passed each year to keep it going. Edwin Chadwick was one of its leaders, and he was very important to its work. The General Board of Health stopped existing on September 1, 1858.
How a Local Board Was Formed
Local boards could be started in two main ways:
- A group of people could ask for one. If at least one-tenth of the people who paid local taxes in a town or parish asked for it, a board could be formed. This was for places with at least 30 taxpayers.
- The General Board could create one. If the death rate in a place was very high (more than 23 deaths for every 1,000 people), the General Board could step in.
If the General Board got involved, an inspector would visit the area. They would check the sewers, water supply, and burial grounds. They would then decide where the local board's area would be. If the area was already a known place, the law was applied by a special government order. If it was a new area, Parliament had to approve it.
Who Was on a Local Board?
Members of local boards were chosen in different ways:
- Some were chosen by the councils of municipal boroughs (towns with their own government).
- Others were elected by property owners and people who paid local taxes.
If a local board's area was entirely within a borough, the town council chose all the members. If the area was outside a borough, all members were elected. If an area was partly in and partly out of a borough, it had a mix of chosen and elected members. The mayor of a borough was automatically a board member.
People who owned more property got more votes. For example, someone with property worth less than £50 got one vote. But someone with property worth over £250 got six votes. This meant that board members were usually wealthy property owners or professionals like doctors or lawyers.
What Local Boards Could Do
The 1848 Act gave local boards many powers and duties:
- Employees: They could hire staff like a surveyor (who measured land), a clerk, a treasurer, and a doctor (called an officer of health). They had to hire an inspector to check for "nuisances." Nuisances were things that harmed public health, like dirty homes, trash, bad smells, polluted water, or problems with slaughterhouses.
- Sewers: Local boards took control of all public sewers. They could also buy private sewers if they were run for profit.
- Street Cleaning: They had to clean the streets, removing dust, ashes, rubbish, and dirt.
- Public Toilets: They could build public toilets (called "public necessities" in the Act).
- Slaughterhouses: They regulated slaughterhouses and could even build their own.
- Street Paving: They took charge of public streets and could make sure private streets were paved too.
- Parks: They were allowed to create and design public parks or "pleasure grounds."
- Water Supply: They could supply water, but only if a private company wasn't already doing a good job.
- Burials: They could provide places to keep bodies before burial. They could also ask to close old graveyards.
- Land: Local boards had the power to buy land for their projects.
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Citation | 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98 |
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| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 2 August 1858 |
| Commencement | 1 September 1858 |
New Rules: The Local Government Act 1858
The 1848 Act was replaced by the Local Government Act 1858. This new law started on September 1, 1858, in all places that already had local boards. The 1858 Act changed how local boards were set up and gave them more powers. Also, the groups created by this Act were simply called "local boards," and their areas were "local government districts."
New Government Departments
When the General Board of Health closed in 1858, its jobs went to the Home Secretary. A new office, the Local Government Act Office, was created within the Home Department to manage the local boards. Later, in 1871, a separate group called the Local Government Board was formed. Its leader was often a member of the Cabinet. This new board also took over the duties of the Poor Law Board, which helped the poor.
How Local Boards Were Formed (Updated)
The process for starting a local board was similar to the 1848 Act. But there were some changes:
- Groups called Improvement commissioners (who already managed some town services) could now adopt the Act. Their board would then also become the local board.
- If people in an area without clear boundaries wanted a local board, they now sent their request to the Home Secretary.
- If one in twenty taxpayers did not want a local board, they now had the right to petition against it.
- The power to create a local board just because of a high death rate was removed.
The way board members were elected stayed the same. But existing or new boards could now divide their areas into smaller sections called wards.
More Powers for Local Boards
The Town Police Clauses Act 1847 had a set of rules for managing towns. These rules could be used by town councils or local boards. But they were not used everywhere. So, these rules were added to the 1858 Act. This meant all local boards gained these new powers.
These powers covered many areas:
- Removing things that blocked streets or caused problems.
- Dealing with fires and preventing them.
- Managing public places.
- Controlling hackney carriages (taxis).
- Providing public bathing houses.
- Naming streets and numbering houses.
- Improving the layout of streets.
- Removing old or dangerous buildings.
- Providing public clocks.
Local boards also took over any street lamps or gas posts from an older law. They also got a new power to create a market place if one was needed or not good enough.
How Many Local Boards Were There?
The number of local boards reached its highest point in 1873, with 721 of them. In that year, a new law, the Public Health Act 1872, combined many local boards with town councils or improvement commissioners if they covered the same area. Out of the 721 boards, 419 were formed under the 1848 Act, and 302 under the 1858 Act.
The number of local boards grew a lot in 1862–63. This happened because many communities started their own boards to avoid being grouped into larger highway districts. Many of these new local government districts were very small, some with fewer than 100 people. Later, in 1863, a new law limited new local government districts to areas with at least 3,000 people. Some of these small boards lasted until the 1930s.
From Local Boards to Urban Districts
The Public Health Act 1875 changed the name of local government districts to urban sanitary districts. The local board then became the urban sanitary authority. The names of the district and board themselves did not change. But the local board took on extra duties related to public health.
Local boards and local government districts finally ended with the Local Government Act 1894. At this point, all urban sanitary districts became urban districts. A new urban district council was created to run each district. These new councils were elected by all people who could vote in national elections. This replaced the old system where votes depended on how much property someone owned.
See also
- Local boards formed in England and Wales 1848–94
