"Yeadon
One of those disgraceful
exhibitions, a prize fight, took place on Yeadon Moor on Monday last.
The
combatants were two men from the neighbourhood of Leeds, one a native of the
Emerald Isle, the other an Englishman.
After giving and receiving some very
severe punishment for upwards of 45 minutes, the Englishman was declared to
have won, the stakes (£20) were handed over to him; a spectator remarking at
the time and very justly that "fools and their money are soon
parted".
Typhus fever has made its appearance
here in it's most virulent form.
There are now several new cases under medical
treatment.
One death only has occurred, we indulge the hope that the sanitary
measures recommended by the Town Commissioners will be carried out to prevent
its spread".
Image courtesy of the British Newspaper Archives, research by Edwy Harling
Further information by Christine Lovedale
Typhus is caused by the Rickettsia bacteria transmitted to
humans by parasitic carriers such as fleas, lice and ticks.
This and other
diseases were common in the town in the mid 19th century.
In 1831 a Local Board
of Health was set up to deal with the problems and health issues which
afflicted the local population.
The Poor Law Commissioners in 1842 found
conditions in Yeadon which aggravated disease, decomposing animal and vegetable
remains, damp, filth, close and overcrowded homes.
The Local Board were
challenged to provide clean water and adequate sewerage, a task which would take
them into the early 1900s.