The Manchester Board of Health

The material comprises a copy of the Proceedings of the Board published in 1805; an incomplete set of annual reports, and articles on the history of the Board.

The Board of Health was formed in Manchester in 1796, as a result of growing concerns about the spread of poverty and diseases in the town. In 1795 Manchester had been hit by a severe outbreak of typhus, which the authorities had difficulty in dealing with. On 7 January 1796, a meeting at the Bridgewater Arms Hotel set up the Board to help improve the public health situation. Its creation as largely the work of two influential Manchester medics, John Ferriar (1761-1815) and Thomas Percival (1740-1804), both physicians at MRI. Various public officials were invited to join, such as borough reeves, overseers of the poor, as well as magistrates and members of the medical profession.

The Board identified three areas of work: the isolation of those with infectious diseases, improved sanitation, and counter-measures against various industrial evils. Despite considerable objections, the Board set up a House of Recovery near the Infirmary in Piccadilly in 1796 as an isolation hospital; in 1803 a new building was opened in the Infirmary grounds, also known as the House of Recovery. Meetings of the Board of Health were held in this building, and chaired firstly by Sir Robert Peel, father of the prime minister, and then by the Earl of Wilton. in 1851, the property and funds of the hospital were transferred to the MRI, and the House of Recovery sold. The Board of Health as the managing body of the House ceased to exist at this date.

The Board also campaigned against various social evils conducive to ill-health, particularly child labour.

For material relating to the House of Recovery see MMC/9/50.