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Earth closet.

Even when toilets did exist the lack of sewer system meant they became nuisances in their own right. ‘In one court there is a privy filled and unfit for use. Human excrement is consequently thrown about in all directions and urine streams down the steps leading up to the court.’ Health inspector 1853. The Health of Towns Commission investigated the state of Merthyr in 1844 and described it as:’ networks of filth, emitting noxious exaltations.’ The chairman of the Board of Guardians in Merthyr, together with two surgeons and an attorney, testified to the accuracy of the Commissioner's Report, adding that:'in some localities a privy was found common to 40 or 50 persons, and even to l00 persons and more'But it took the deaths of thousands of people living in these conditions for change to happen and for someone to take responsibility for the living conditions of the poor.