A public proclamation issued in 1831 regarding the cleansing of Glasgow's lanes, closes and thoroughfares.
The Glasgow Police Act of 1800 made the Chief Constable responsible for the cleansing of city thoroughfares and Glasgow's policemen were set to work for two hours each fortnight, sweeping the streets. Scavengers were appointed in 1804 and the authorities issued periodic notices calling on citizens to keep streets, lanes and closes free from rubbish and the piles of human and animal waste that were often piled up outside houses. This notice threatens that legal action may be taken against those who failed to clear out their closes and middens. The footnote asks people in densely populated areas of the city not to keep pigs and not to use leftovers from their kitchens as pig food, as this could spread disease.
It was not until 1843 that the Town Council received statutory powers relating to the cleansing of city streets, and in 1862 to the removal of middens and other refuse. The Cleansing Department was established in 1868.
Reference: 930.2001.3
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
cleansing, Cleansing Department, dung heaps, dungsteads, effluent, Glasgow Police Act, 1800, middens, pig food, pigs, pollution, posters, public proclamations, sewage, street cleaning, Town Council
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