Catherine ("Kitty") Wilkinson (24 October 1785–1860)[2][3] was an Irish migrant and "wife of a labourer", who became known as the 'Saint of the Slums' due to her pioneering the public wash house movement.[2] In 1832, during a cholera epidemic, she had the only boiler in her neighbourhood, so she invited those with infected clothes or linens to use it, thus saving many lives.[4] This was the first public washhouse in Liverpool. Ten years later with public funds her efforts resulted in the opening of a combined washhouse and public baths, the first in the United Kingdom.
- ^ Rathbone 1927.
- ^ a b "'Slum Saint' honoured with statue". BBC News. 4 February 2010.
- ^ "New Page 1". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
- ^ Kelly, Michael (2000). The life and times of Kitty Wilkinson. ISBN 9781901231854.
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