[Report 1919] / Medical Officer of Health, Cheltenham Borough.

  • Cheltenham (England). Borough Council
Date:
1919
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1919] / Medical Officer of Health, Cheltenham Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Natural and Social Conditions of the District. Cheltenham lies in a pleasant rural district to the West of the Cotswolds, vvhose escarpment passes down the County of Gloucester making a line of hills close behind the town. The hills edge the valley of the Severn and the town thus occupies a fair site at a nearest distance of seven miles from this river and at an altitude of 150—300 feet above its stream, the centre parts being about 200 feet above mean sea level. The small stream called the Chelt courses its way through the centre of the town and two other streams flow near its opposite extreme boundaries, all going towards the Severn at a fair gradient and indicating a perfect natural drainage, along the main lines of which it is easy to convey the waste waters from the houses by sewers. The more open aspect of the site is towards the West and North-west, the hills circling about it on the opposite quarters, and as viewed from one or another of the neighbouring heights the ground occupied appears to be favourable and well chosen. Though the steep hills are near at hand the area occupied by the houses has no difficult gradients. The subsoil of the ground built upon in either Lias clay, or sand overlying the clay to a greater or less depth. The level of the subsod water in the sand generally lies well below the foundations of the houses that occupy the sandy area, and retention of water upon the clay surfaces is very little observed. The comparative healthfulness of one kind of site over the other would appear to be more a matter of idiosyncrasy than of any result capable of being demonstrated by statistics. The climate naturally does not vary greatly from that of the whole of the great Severn Valley and the other towns that lie within it. It is a comparatively soft climate as compared with the East of England. The numerous adorning avenues and trees in Cheltenham may add somewhat to this condition, by raising the humidity of the air by one or two degrees, and breaking the winds. The effect of this upon health would be as favourable for some states as undesirable for others, and it is not possible to say that the existence of the trees is prejudicial generally. Nevertheless an occasional judicious thinning to counteract the overgrowth that takes place in the course of time is to be recommended, in order that the light and ventilation be not too greatly impeded in the immediate neighbourhood of the houses. The beauty of the trees even is prejudiced by too dense a growth. Whilst the climate cannot be called invigorating many places could be mentioned where a more relaxing condition of atmosphere prevails. The subject of climate as exemplihed by comparisons between one place and another in Ifngland has not been systematically investigated, but what there is to be learned from it probably affects the comfort and well-being of the body more than the death-rate. At least there is no cause of death that I am able to attribute to the climate here from my personal knowledge as medical officer of health during 28 years.
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