EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE GIVEN TO THE RANGER REPORT 1854

Evidence given by Revd H. G. Robinson (a leading promoter of Inquiry)
He had been Incumbent of Burley for the last 18 months. He considered the health of the population bad, and that the rate of mortality during the last half year had been higher than that of many populous towns. Consumption was the fatal disorder. It was most prevalent amongst the young women, and excessively rapid from a certain point. Its ravages, in his opinion, were aggravated by the bad sewerage and drainage, and other evils arising from a deficiency of these two aids to health and cleanliness The more modern parts of the village, such as Peel Place, Pleasant Row, and West Terrace etc., had for the most part been built by working men, who had saved enough to build themselves houses. He considered the men of this class one of the most valuable in the place, [and they deserved better].

Evidence given by George Holmes, a Joiner, of West Terrace
He had lived at West Terrace for the last three years. There was an open gutter at the back of his house. He remembered it a clear running stream, but since that time, twenty new houses had been built, all of which drain into this stream, which was now a stinking gutter. It was not more than five feet from the back door of the house. His wife was ill; he believed bad drainage was the cause...The gutter was now stagnant, except in wet weather.

Evidence given by Benjamin Waterhouse (Assistant Overseer of the Poor of Peel Place)
He resided in Peel Place, and his cellar was sometimes flooded to a depth of 24 inches for want of proper drainage. The smell from the cellar was very bad in hot weather. There were some of his neighbours who did not seem to care for having their drainage better, but he was not of that mind himself. He knew it could not be done without its costing money, but for his part he would rather spend a little money in making good drainage, than bear all the annoyance and discomfort he now had for want of it, let alone the bad health it might bring upon him…..When the proposal for a petition came up at a public meeting some gentlemen came forward and offered to lend ten pounds each to the owners of the houses in Peel Place and elsewhere on their personal security if they would not sign the petition. But he for one wanted no such arrangement…..and he would rather do it out of his own pocket than be beholden to any one for a loan.

A copy of the full Ranger Report is in Burley Archives (in the village library), and it contains William Ranger’s summary of the evidence, examples of evidence given, minutes of meetings of Burley Sanitary Committee, and statistics showing the population, incidence of diseases and deaths in the village during the previous decade.
...now see  "Extracts of Bye Laws"