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1832 - Cholera epidemic
It is no surprise that, in July 1832, there was a cholera
epidemic in Sheffield. Cholera thrives when water is polluted
by sewage.
The standards of sanitation were so low - virtually streams
of raw sewage in the streets - that many people, forced to
live in these appallingly unhygienic conditions, were bound
to catch the deadly disease.
Records show that 1,347 people caught the disease and 402
died.
the Cholera Gardens
Most of these victims were buried in mass graves in the Cholera
Gardens on Norfolk Road.
 The symptoms of cholera are like those of food poisoning:
dreadful stomach pains, terrible vomiting, severe diarrhoea.
Without proper medical care it is frequently fatal. The victim
can die of dehydration within just two days of the first symptoms
appearing.
This epidemic lasted for six months from July until December
1832, but cases of cholera were common during the rest of
the century.
Cholera, as well as other diseases such as typhoid, is mainly
spread by infected water. Towards the end of the century,
the provision of pure water for the cities began to bring
about a dramatic improvement in public health.
William
Henry Smith was one of the later victims who died of the
disease in 1887.
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