Sotonopedia

Scavengers were essentially early street cleaners. In 1433-34 a scavenger was paid a few pence a week to clean English Street (High Street) and to carry the refuse to the sea. The Paving Commissioners in c.1775 appointed a scavenger at eight shillings a week. His duty was to rake the dung from the streets and clear the gutters. The dung was taken down to the quayside and taken away in boats. The fact that magistrates continued to complain about dung heaps in the town for many years afterwards suggest the scavenger was not overly effective.

see also

• Paving Commissioners

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