Drogheda's Refuse Problems 1656 - 1707 A.D.

In this heatwave (and subsequent downpours) we've been having, give thanks for the fact that nowadays the citizens of Drogheda don't have to put up with dung, muck and refuse (of the human and household kind) all along our streets creating a foul sight and smell. Our seventeenth century counterparts were not so lucky in this regard. The rapid growth of towns in this period along with the consequent increase in population made the lack of sanitation, the shortage of good water, the dirty narrow streets and the lack of drainage an ever increasing problem.

From the minutes of the meetings of the Corporation of Drogheda (available from October 1869, the earlier records having been destroyed by Cromwell), it's clear that the council were well aware of both the danger and unpleasantness of uncontrolled refuse dumping. The great Plague of London in 1665 had also been attributed to the dirt and unsanitary conditions prevalent in that city. That the Corporation took whatever action lay within their powers to deal with the problem is evident from the following extracts from the minutes of the Council (original spelling used throughout).

7th August 1658: Petition of "Thomas Gregory, Bellowre (Town Crier) prayinge some allowance from ye worshipful Corporaceon for this dayly paines and labour for cleeringe the howse of office neere St. Saviours Key (ed. a mall which ran between Dyer St. and River Boyne) wch otherwise would be very noysome and hurtfull to ye adjacent inhabitants".

The "house of office" from the context would appear to have been a public convenience. Gregory was granted ten shillings sterling for services already rendered and promised that future remuneration would be considered by "ye committee of views".

8th July 1659: Ordered "that all such persons wch for the future shall carie or cause to be carried any durt or dunge through the streets of this towne, in any carre or carte, but such as may bee well closed on both sides, at at ye one ende, to keep ye same from falling upon streets, upon paine of XIId sterling, to be leavied of and upon the goods of ye offenders, as they shall be found peccant (guilty) herein..."

12th October 1660: The Gate Customs (or toll collection) at the town gates were leased to one Thomas Cockayne. A condition of the lease was that he "Thomas Cockayne, or his under tenants, shall from tyme to tyme be at charge of cleaninge the sayd Gates so that travellers and other inhabitants of the Towne may not be annoyed in their incomings into the said Town or out..."

The Corporation were apparently anxious to impress the tourist even then.

Drogheda 1749

During 1665, the year of the Great Plague of London, the Corporation were very much aware of the danger of the spread of infection from the crews of English ships using the port. At the 1665 Oct. meeting reference was made to the "severall proclamations from the Lord Lieutenant and Counsell, that noe master or vessel shall come ashore nor suffer passengers to land in any parte without lycence first obtayned from the Magistrate by reason of the infection continuinge in England." There were also orders given that the townspeople, under pain of hefty and continuing fines, should keep their streets clean in front of their doors, carry away their refuse and keep their swine off the streets to avoid spreading disease.

The subject of the pollution of the River Boyne was also troubling the Council around the start of the 18th century, judging by the following:

16th January 1707: "
Ordered that Mr. Mayor, the Mayor of the Staple, Ald. Graham, Ald. J. A. Meade, Mr. John Ffriend, Mr. Wm. Patten and Mr. Edward Fforbes or any five of them doe viewe the Strand where the greate dung hill lys without the Blinde Gate and consider what is fitt to be done for the security of the river from the nuisance of that dunghill and to report their opinion to the next General Assembly."

The "Blind Gate" was the original name for the present Constitution Hill, and the area seemed to have been used by the citizens in the 17th century as a dump. The Corporation, judging by their decree of 30th April 1669 in which they closed St. Katherines Gate (this was located in the east wall of the town close to the river in the vicinity of Greene's Furniture Showroom) to people dumping waste outside the town walls, were conscious of the danger to the river water from the effluent from the dump, flowing down the steep hill into the river.  

Whilst the problems facing the Borough Council may not have changed much in the past three hundred odd years, at least Constitution Hill is no longer a giant midden heap and for that we should be very grateful.



Extracts from: "Drogheda's Refuse Problem 1656 - 1707 A.D." by Moira Corcoran, Old Drogheda Society Journal 1983.

The Boyne Valley in autochrome

Whilst scanning through the local paper this morning an upcoming exhibition in the Droichead Arts Centre caught my eye; an exhibition of photographs from Ireland, including the Boyne Valley, taken by two French female photographers Marguerite Mespoulet and Madeleine Mignon in 1913. They were part of a wider project financed by French millionaire banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn to photograph and film various different cultures around the world. What made these records stand out as opposed to other collections was the fact that they are in colour; Kahns' photographers used the new technique of autochrome, invented in 1903 by the Lumiere Brothers and the worlds first true colour photographic process.

So we end up with wonderful pictures such as this Galway girl in all her traditional Claddagh finery:
                                 
                     


Photographs such as this are not only an invaluable document of Irish culture in their own right, but also remind us that our forebears did not exist in a black and white world, one that we are accustomed to seeing in other photographs and films.

Collections like these are also important as they are documents that can act as an immediate reminder of our past and all of the changes through to today. The numerous photographs of Drogheda down through the years serve to remind us how much our town has changed. For long-time residents, it can be easy to forget the historical buildings, the medieval layout of the streets and lanes, the importance of the town in Irish history as a whole; when you see St. Laurences Gate every day you can fail to notice it after a while. It becomes a sort of historical blind spot. People have other things to worry about in their daily lives than old buildings and local history this is true, but these buildings and customs and local speech are what makes us different and standout, & forms our own identity that's not linked to anyone else. The ancient town informs the new and by extension, its inhabitants.

The local aspect of the collection features scenes from the Boyne valley and the surrounding area, with coracle, or currach, makers featuring prominently. On our Facebook page we recently featured a very interesting short film on the making of these vessels, here's the link to the page to check it out: Drogheda Millmount Museum Facebook. The exhibition in the Arts Centre, running from 27th June-31st August, will feature not only the photos but also talks, screenings and workshops for children. Definitely a date for the diary.

Droichead Arts Centre link: The Boyne Valley in the Albert Kahn Collection (1913)