Interviews from History - The Making of London: Joseph Bazalgette

Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s greatest work is largely unseen but without it London could never have become the City it is today. Following The Great Stink of 1858, when life became unbearable due to the smell of sewage and other effluent in the Thames, Bazalgette proposed to create a system of subterranean sewers.  The project was unique in history and colossal in scale. Constructed brick tunnels were over 82 miles long and calculated to deal with 420 million gallons of waste a day. State of the art Pumphouses were designed in Romanesque style and opened by royalty.  This pioneering sewer system curtailed cholera epidemics and saved tens of thousands of lives.

• Cast and Credits

Suitable for ages 15 upwards

Find out more about Joseph Bazalgette

• Sir Joseph Bazalgette - Wikipedia
• Crossness Pumping Station - Wikipedia
• The historic England Blog: Story of London's Sewer System - heritagecalling.com blog