Description:The Calthorpe Estate was still being developed during the 1880s as a comfortable retreat for the wealthy; but within its boundaries were many farms and small dwellings that pre-dated the Victorian expansion. Conditions in some of these homes were clearly appalling. The Inspector of Nuisances frequently had cause to write to the Estate demanding the cleaning of foul yards and overflowing cesspools and the closure of polluted wells. Disinfecting of homes following outbreaks of disease was also a regular necessity; for instance at 4 Chad Valley after an incidence of Small Pox.<small><sup>1</sup></small>
There were clearly severe hygiene problems in the vicinity of Metchley Lane. In 1884 the Inspector of Nuisances served a notice on the Estate in respect of the Phipps property in Metchley Park Road regarding ‘the filthy condition of the kitchen and cellar, a foul ashpit, and the defective condition of the yard near the wash-house’. The Estate was required to ‘Whitewash the kitchen and cellar, fill up the ashpit, reconstruct the privy, provide a pan for the excreta and a tub with a waterproof covering for the ashes and repave the yard near the wash-house’.<small><sup>2</sup></small> Census records for 1881 record the head of the Phipps household as a dairyman, who shared his home with his wife and five children and another couple, the Thomases, who were agricultural labourers.
The document illustrated is one of two analyses of water quality at the Gloster Cottage, 30 Metchley Lane, in 1887. The Gloster family consisted of three sisters and one brother, all unmarried. According to the 1881 census, all the sisters worked as laundresses, presumably taking in washing from the wealthier homes. A ready supply of water would therefore have been crucial to their livelihood. T. W. & W. Southall, Pharmaceutical and Analytical Chemists, of 17 Bull Street, concluded that ‘the water is of very doubtful purity and contains a very large quantity of nitrates […] we should not advise its use as a drinking water’.
A further analysis was carried out by Alfred Bird & Sons, Analytical Laboratory, of 69 Worcester Street. Worryingly their conclusion, presumably based on a similar sample, was that the water was ‘quite suitable for drinking purposes’. Fortunately, the Health Department appear to have acted upon Southall’s conclusions, as they subsequently demanded the closure of the well at 30 Metchley Lane.<small><sup>3</sup></small>
These pollution problems highlighted the need for a clean and reliable water supply; an issue addressed by Joseph Chamberlain’s Elan Valley project. The laying of pipework across the Calthorpe Estate was first suggested in 1891<small><sup>4</sup></small> and residents of Metchley Park Road would experience its impact in due course when pipes were laid through Metchley Farm.
One subject of a notice from the Inspector of Nuisances in 1882, Masshouse Farm, later made an appearance in Edgbastonia in May 1906. Local farmers had been adding artificial colour to their milk, and Masshouse Farm was cited as a reliable and hygienic source. One can only hope that the foul drains and overflowing cesspools had been repaired by that stage!<small><sup>5</sup></small>
<font color="#666633"><small><sup>1</sup> Calthorpe Estate Books, 21 August 1883
<sup>2</sup> Calthorpe Estate Books, 3 November 1884
<sup>3</sup> Calthorpe Estate Books, 15 November 1887
<sup>4</sup> Calthorpe Estate Books, 1 August 1891
<sup>5</sup> Calthorpe Estate Books, 21 September 1882</small></font>