OCR SHP GCSE History: The People's Health c.1250 to Present

Practice flashcards covering key facts, dates, events, and public health developments across medieval, early modern, industrial, and modern Britain.

Approximately what percentage of the English population died in the Great Famine of 1315–16?

About ten per cent of the population.

What caused the medieval disease ergotism (also known as 'St Anthony's Fire')?

A fungus that grew on damp rye bread.

What were the three main symptoms of the bubonic plague during the Black Death?

Swellings in the armpits and groin, an intense fever, and blisters all over the body.

In medieval towns, what was the role of a gongfermer?

To empty the cesspits of human waste.

How did medieval and early modern people define 'miasma'?

An invisible poison in the air, often linked to bad smells, which was believed to be the main cause of disease.

Which English town or city led the way in public healthcare by providing piped spring water from the 1230s?

London.

What invention in 1712 by Thomas Newcomen contributed to the onset of industrial air pollution?

The steam engine.

Under Henry VIII's plague proclamation of 1518, what was anyone leaving an infected house required to do?

Carry a white stick.

Under the 1604 Plague Act, what punishment could be given to a plague victim who left their infected house?

They could be hanged.

What slogan did early modern gin sellers use to advertise the cheapness of gin?

'Drunk for a penny, dead drunk for tuppence'.

What law was enforced in 1751 that included transporting people to Australia for repeatedly selling gin without a licence?

The 1751 Gin Act.

Who constructed a huge reservoir in London in 1609 to supply piped water?

Hugh Middleton.

In what year and through which port did cholera first arrive in Britain?

In 1831, through the port at Sunderland.

How did Dr Robert Baker demonstrate the link between dirty living conditions and cholera in Leeds in 1833?

By plotting all the cholera cases on a map.

What was the average life expectancy in Manchester in 1841?

Around 26 years.

Under the 1848 Public Health Act, at what death rate threshold was a town forced to set up a local board of health?

Where the death rate was higher than 23 per 1,000.

What action was taken in the House of Commons during the Great Stink of 1858 to counteract the smell?

The windows were draped with curtains soaked in chloride of lime.

How many miles of sewers did Joseph Bazalgette build across London between 1858 and 1865?

1300 miles of sewers.

What ambitious engineering project was completed to supply clean drinking water to Manchester by 1900?

Damming Lake Thirlmere in the Lake District and constructing a 96-mile aqueduct.

Which three groups vulnerable to poverty did Seebohm Rowntree identify as lacking a social 'safety net'?

The old, the sick, and the unemployed.

What speed limit was set by an 1896 Act of Parliament allowing the first motor cars on British roads?

14 miles per hour.

In what year was the National Health Service (NHS) founded?

1948.

How many people died as a result of the London smog of 1952, prompting the Clean Air Act of 1956?

About 12,000 people.

What public health measures did Dr James Niven implement in Manchester to combat the 1918 Spanish flu?

He recommended closing schools, disinfecting cinemas and theatres between shows, and advised washing hands, wearing masks, and using handkerchiefs.

What key provision did the Margaret Thatcher government introduce in the 1980 Housing Act?

It gave council housing tenants the right to buy their own council homes.