There is no better way to demonstrate the realities of Victorian living conditions than taking a trip down our 1842 slum street. Students will be able to see, hear and smell for themselves, the shocking conditions that led to regular outbreaks of lethal diseases such as Cholera, TB and Typhoid.

Here you can read about The Public Health Act of 1848 and see who the key individuals were who pushed for better living conditions, such as Edwin Chadwick, Charles Booth and Joseph Bazelgette.

Louis Pasteur is often referred to as the ‘Father of Microbiology’ because of his discovery that tiny organisms, which he called ‘germs’, spread disease. Here students can find out how he made the most important breakthrough in the history of the fight against disease and see for themselves the microscopic images that drove this discovery.

In 1854 John Snow made one of the most significant steps forward in the fight to clean up the living conditions of people in Victorian Britain. Read about his innovative use of maps to understand how Cholera spread and how this helped people to recognise the dangers of dirty water.

Here students can read, in more detail, information about some of the key individuals they will need to know about such as Louis Pasteur, Joseph Lister, Edward Jenner, Alexander Fleming, James Young Simpson and John Snow.

Watch useful and fascinating videos all about some of the biggest and most dramatic epidemics in our history. Here you can find information about Spanish Flu, AIDS, Lung Cancer and Penicillin.