Views of smoke in England, 1800- 1830 by Ayuka Kasuga, BA, MSc. Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Geography, University of Nottingham DECEMBER 2013 Abstract This thesis explores urban smoke and its nuisances in Georgian England, especially focusing on the period, 1800-1830. During this period, a number of English towns experienced accelerated industrialisation and many of them first experienced air pollution. In 1821, Michael Angelo Taylor, MP, passed a parliamentary bill on smoke abatement, Taylor’s Act. Although it has generally been believed that the Act did not have much of a social impact, this thesis argues that the Act diffused the usage of smoke abatement technology and triggered dozens of legal cases. The geographical focus of this thesis is Leeds and London. The Leeds case study examines the Leeds smoke abatement campaign and the smoke nuisance court case against Benjamin Gott, a leading merchant/ manufacturer in Leeds. It shows that the confusion over the effectiveness of smoke abatement technology represented the main difficulty in the smoke abatement campaign. The court case between the Duke of Northumberland and Clowes represents an example of the London nuisance cases in the 1820s. After the introduction of the steam press, the printing business became a polluting business. Because the plaintiff was the aristocrat, the case was interpreted as a class issue between aristocrat and middle-class printer. However, it was the Duke’s servants who suffered most from the nuisance and the case shows more complex class politics. This thesis also explores smoke nuisance caused by conventional smoke-producing industries in London, waterworks and brickmaking. Some water companies adopted smoke abatement technology but the confusion over the effectiveness of the technology can be observed in London, too. Taylor’s Act did not directly influence brickmaking business but it could cause nuisance to its neighbours, especially nurseries and gardens. 2 Acknowledgements First, I must acknowledge the International Office, the University of Nottingham, for providing me with funding to undertake the research. This thesis was also not possible without the research environment at the School of Geography, University of Nottingham. Of course, such environment is made by all staff and students and I greatly owe the completion of this project to them. My supervisors Professor Georgina Endfield and Professor Stephen Daniels have expertly guided my research and provided constructive comments. Because I was not trained as a geographer or historian on British history before I came to the UK, I am sure that I needed extra guidance from them. I am very grateful to their support. I am also grateful to all of the staff of the archives and libraries I have visited, in particular Mr. Christopher Hunwick, the archivist at Alnwick Castle, and members of The Thoresby Society for their kindness. Finally, I thank my friends and family. Without their support, it was not possible to finish my research project in the foreign country. I especially want to thank Lucy, Amber, Kate, Stacey and other officemates. 3 Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgements ............................................................................... 3 Table of Contents ................................................................................. 4 Lists of Tables ...................................................................................... 8 Lists of Plates ...................................................................................... 9 Abbreviations .................................................................................... 12 Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................... 14 1-1 Geographical focus .................................................................... 15 1-2 Trial records, newspaper articles and visual images ....................... 16 1-3 Aim and Objectives .................................................................... 18 1-3-1 The early nineteenth-century smoke abatement campaign ........ 18 1-3-2 Historical geography of smoke nuisance.................................. 19 1-3-3 Discourse analysis................................................................ 21 1-4 Structure of the thesis ................................................................ 22 1-5 ‘Smoke nuisance’ ....................................................................... 25 Chapter 2 Literature review .............................................................. 27 2-1 Landscape and visual culture ....................................................... 28 2-1-1 Landscape .......................................................................... 29 2-1-2 Industrial landscapes............................................................ 32 2-1-3 Caricatures ......................................................................... 36 2-2 Geography of knowledge ............................................................ 38 2-3 Urban history ............................................................................ 43 2-3-1 Population growth and improvement ...................................... 43 2-3-2 Georgian urban improvement ................................................ 45 2-3-3 Urban economy and industry ................................................. 50 2-4 Environmental History ................................................................ 52 2-4-1 Political environmental history ............................................... 52 4 2-4-2 The Cultural turn in Environmental History .............................. 55 2-5 Air pollution history .................................................................... 57 2-5-1 Smoke politics and culture .................................................... 57 2-5-2 Legal history and the common law ......................................... 62 2-5-3 Smoke nuisance in Georgian urban history .............................. 65 2-6 Conclusion ................................................................................ 67 Chapter 3 Methodology .................................................................... 69 3-1 Methods of analysis ................................................................... 69 3-1-1 Archives as sites of knowledge production ............................... 69 3-1-2 Textual analysis and discourse analysis .................................. 72 3-1-3 Discourse as a mundane practice ........................................... 74 3-1-4 Discourses which encourage policy change .............................. 75 3-2 Sources .................................................................................... 78 3-2-1 Trial records ........................................................................ 78 3-2-2 Newspapers ........................................................................ 83 3-2-3 Visual images ...................................................................... 85 3-2-4 Parliamentary Papers ........................................................... 88 3-2-5 Contemporary books, pamphlets and journals ......................... 89 3-2-6 Other archival materials ....................................................... 89 3-3 Conclusion ................................................................................ 90 Chapter 4 Smoke in the Long Eighteenth Century ................................ 91 4-1 Georgian smoke iconography ...................................................... 92 4-1-1 Seventeen-century smoke nuisance ....................................... 92 4-1-2 The Industrial Sublime ......................................................... 94 4-1-3 London smoke ..................................................................... 97 4-1-4 Smoke observed from a distance ......................................... 101 4-2 Medical views of smoke ............................................................ 103 4-2-1 Opposing medical narratives ............................................... 103 4-2-2 Local medical experts’ view on industrial smoke .................... 107 5 4-2-3 Physicians’ testimonies at the Select Committee .................... 110 4-3 Development of ‘smoke consumption’ ........................................ 112 4-3-1 The Society of Arts ............................................................. 112 4-3-2 Manchester’s local act ........................................................ 117 4-3-3 Parliamentary debates and smoke consumers ....................... 118 4-3-4 Provincial Towns and Taylor’s Act ......................................... 125 4-4 Conclusion .............................................................................. 128 Chapter 5 Industrial smoke in Leeds ................................................ 131 5-1 Eighteenth-century views of Leeds ............................................. 132 5-2 Urban industrialisation.............................................................. 136 5-3 Smoky ring around the town ..................................................... 140 5-4 The first conflict over smoke in Leeds ......................................... 143 5-5 Newspaper reports and advertisements on smoke abatement ....... 147 5-6 The confusion over the technology ............................................. 152 5-7 The Leeds Smoke abatement campaign .....................................