John Snow Replica Pump - Broadwick Street, London, UK
N 51° 30.812 W 000° 08.170
30U E 698709 N 5710822
This replica pump is located at the junction of Broadwick Street and Poland Street. It was erected to the memory of Dr John Snow who, against other theories, tracked down the source of a cholera outbreak to a water pump located nearby.
Waymark Code: WMNPGV
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/14/2015
Views: 3
A plaque, at the base of the pedestal on which the pump stands, tells us:
Doctor John Snow (1813-1858) a noted anaesthetist lived near the focus of the 1854 Soho cholera epidemic which centred on Broad Street, as Broadwick Street was then called. In September of that year alone, over 500 people died in Soho from the disease.
Snow had studied cholera in the 1848-9 epidemic in Southwark and Wandsworth. His theory that polluted drinking water was the source of transmission of the disease was confirmed when he mapped cholera deaths in Soho with the source of the victim's drinking water. He found that they were concentrated on the Broad Street public water pump.
His theory initially met with some disbelief but such was his conviction that he had the pump handle removed to prevent its further use. Soon afterwards the outbreak ended.
The original pump is believed to have been situated outside the nearby "Sir John Snow" Public House.
This water pump
was unveiled by
Councillor David Weeks
Leader of Westminster City Council
on
20 July 1992
It marks a pioneering example of
medical research in the service of
public health.
City of Westminster
The placement of this artefact and associated environmental improvements in Broadwick Street
have been generously supported by Lynton plc.
Visit Instructions:
Please provide another photo of the location. You don't have to be in there shot, but you can. The photo requirement is to discourage any armchair visiting.
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