As London baked under the sweltering summer of 1858, foul-smelling deeds were afoot. Several men were seen throwing dung into the river Thames from the pierhead at St Katharine’s Dock, and the summonses to court were applied for and granted – reluctantly – by an official named Mr Yardley. The Morning Advertiser picked up the story on 9 July, giving it the headline ‘The State of the Thames’ and quoting the beleaguered response of Mr Yardley to the summons:
Issue 124 / August 2023
Social History
The Great Stink
165 years ago this month, London was in the grip of a pollution crisis that would change the capital forever
Header Image: A woman drops her teacup in horror upon discovering the monstrous contents of a magnified drop of Thames water, described as 'Monster Soup'