WASTE

 

See Also: BIRDS Seagulls; DISTRICT CHANGE Clerkenwell, Fagin; ELECTRICITY Former Power Stations, Shoreditch Electricity Generating Station; HORSES Horse Manure; MEAT Pudding Lane; SEWAGE; THE WHITBY TRADE; MENU

 

Dustmen

Ash used to be used as a fertiliser.

 

Johnny Inkster

Johnny Inkster made a fortune by being paid to take sawdust away from sawmills. He sold it to butchers and publicans.

 

Peter Street

Peter Street in Soho probably derives its name from a 17thC saltpetre works that stood between it and Brewer Street.1 This utilised London's night-soil.

Glasshouse Street probably took its name from a glass factory. The location would have been useful in terms of the glassmakers availing themselves of the saltpetre for their glass-making.

Location: Glasshouse Street, W1F 0AL (orange, brown)

Peter Street, W1F 0AL (turquoise, grey)

1. The portion of Soho in which Brewer Street is sited used to be known as Knave's Acre.

 

Pure Finders

Pure finders sold dog poo to the tanning industry.

See Also: DOGS

 

Rubbish Pits

The Slough Arm (1882) of the Grand Union Canal was one of the last canals to be built in Britain. It was constructed in order that the brickfields along its course could be exploited to help the expansion of London. Once the clay was exhausted, sand and gravel was extracted and moved along the canal. Rubbish from the city was tipped into the excavated pits.

David Backhouse 2024