southwark and vauxhall waterworks company
in 1845, the southwark water company merged with the vauxhall water company to become the southwark and vauxhall water company .
between 1839 and 1842 there was a period of unfruitful competition between the vauxhall company and the southwark and lambeth companies. eventually in 1845 the southwark and the vauxhall companies were amalgamated to form the southwark and vauxhall water company .
the southwark and vauxhall water company was incorporated in 1845 and was formed by an amalgamation of two earlier undertakings, the southwark and the vauxhall companies .
to see the hampton site of the southwark and vauxhall company in 1894, click here .
between 1839 and 1842 there was a period of unfruitful competition between the vauxhall company and the southwark and lambeth companies. eventually in 1845 the southwark and the vauxhall companies were amalgamated to form the southwark and vauxhall water company. the works at kennington were dismantled and conveyed to the phoenix gas company in 1847 .
between 1845 and 1847 the vauxhall company' s works at vauxhall bridge were abolished and the united company’s works were concentrated at battersea .
click here to see more on the original london location of the southwark and vauxhall company from 1870 to present .
before consulting any legal papers for the southwark and vauxhall water company readers should see the notes on page 40 .
. later that same year, the borough waterworks company purchased the london bridge licence from the new river company, and it was renamed the southwark water company. the company extracted water from the
the south london waterworks company was established by private act of parliament in 1805. the company extracted water from the thames beside vauxhall bridge .
the era of free water gave way to the era of commercial supply with the foundation of the new river company (1612) and the london bridge waterworks (1581). chelsea waterworks company was founded in 1723, and in 1746 laid the first iron water main (pipes were previously made of wood or lead). the southwark water company was founded in 1760, the lambeth water works company in 1785, the vauxhall water company in 1805, the west middlesex waterworks company in 1806, the east london waterworks company in 1807, the kent waterworks company in 1809 and the grand junction waterworks company in 1811 .
click here to learn more about the 1845 - 55 location of the southwark and vauxhall water company, its subsequent location and additional reservoirs .
gv ii gates, gate piers, quadrant walls and railings bounding the pumping station, c1888, for the southwark and vauxhall water company .
southwark and vauxhall water company was formed in 1845 on the merger of the southwark water company and the vauxhall water company. the reservoirs covered nearly 18 acres of ground which now houses battersea power station. steam engines were used to pump water to a height of 175 ft to supply brixton .
although no longer owned by the southwark and vauxhall water company. instead the operation was taken over by the metropolitan water board in 1902 .
the borough waterworks company was formed in 1770, originally supplying water to a brewery and the surrounding area, which spanned the distance between london and southwark bridges. the adjacent area was supplied by the london bridge waterworks company .
records of the south london waterworks company (later the southwark and vauxhall water company) including papers relating to shares; minutes of director' s meetings; stock certificates; papers relating to works and papers relating to a lawsuit .
the east london waterworks company was founded by act of parliament in 1806, and also acquired existing waterworks at shadwell, lea bridge and west ham .
in 1872 the lambeth waterworks company moved upstream on the thames to molesey, followed by the chelsea waterworks company. they built the molesey reservoirs there in 1872 .
1876 thomas william rumble was chief engineer to the southwark and vauxhall water co when alfred james corry was articled to him .
1852 the southwark and vauxhall water company bill went through parliament [ 3 ] this allowed a change of the source of supply from battersea to hampton. the company arranged to supply putney
vauxhall history is an online research database of knowledge and images covering aspects of the history of the london parliamentary constituency of vauxhall .
the southwark and vauxhall water company acquired land at hampton in 1851 and in 1852 an act was obtained to sanction the construction of new works and to enlarge the authorised supply area .
the mortality in the houses supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company was therefore between eight and nine times as great as in the houses supplied by the lambeth company; and it will be remarked that the customers of the lambeth company continued to enjoy an immunity from cholera greater than the rest of london which is not mixed up as they are with the houses supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company .
in 1833 the south london waterworks company was supplying 12, 046 houses with approximately 12, 000 gallons of water. [ 14 ] in 1834, the company was renamed the vauxhall water company. [ 10 ]
in 1833 the south london waterworks company was supplying 12, 046 houses with approximately 12, 000 gallons of water. [ 13 ] in 1834, the company was renamed the vauxhall water company. [ 9 ]
in 1841 the east london waterworks company was supplying 36, 916 houses. [ 14 ]
in 1841 the east london waterworks company was supplying 36, 916 houses. [ 13 ]
the vauxhall water company originated as the south london waterworks company which had been incorporated in 1805 taking its supply from the effra at vauxhall creek. this supply was becoming polluted and silted up in the 1820' s and in 1834 a new act was acquired altering the name of the company, increasing its area of supply and authorising new intakes .
the london bridge waterworks company was dissolved in 1822, and its water supply licence was purchased by the new river company. later that same year, the borough waterworks company purchased the london bridge licence from the new river company, and it was renamed the southwark water company. the company extracted water from the river thames using steam engines to pump it to a cistern at the top of a sixty foot high tower. [ 9 ]
between 1839 and 1849 many changes took place in the water - supply of london. the southwark water company united with the south london water company, to form a new company under the name of the southwark and vauxhall company. the water works at london bridge were abolished, and the united company derived their supply from the thames at battersea fields, about half - a - mile above vauxhall bridge. the lambeth water company continued to obtain their supply opposite to hungerford market; but they had established a small reservoir at brixton .
click here to learn more about the two reservoirs of the lambeth waterworks company in regions of south london .
the london bridge waterworks company was dissolved in 1822, and its water supply licence was purchased by the new river company. later that same year, the borough waterworks company purchased the london bridge licence from the new river company, and it was renamed the southwark water company. the company extracted water from the river thames using steam engines to pump it to a cistern at the top of a 60 - foot - high (18 m) tower. [ 10 ]
as a result of the metropolis water act 1902, the metropolitan water board took over the functions of the southwark and vauxhall water company in 1904. when it did so the company was in the course of constructing storage reservoirs at honor oak and walton .
the following is the proportion of deaths to 10, 000 houses, during the first seven weeks of the epidemic, in the population supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company, in that supplied by the lambeth company, and in the rest of london .
to comply with the legislation, the southwark and vauxhall company built new waterworks in hampton above molesey lock in 1855. the site was shared with the grand junction waterworks company and the west middlesex waterworks company. the company also constructed the stain hill reservoirs which had a 36 - inch - diameter (910 mm) main to battersea. a third reservoir was opened later in the year between nunhead cemetery and peckham rye. in 1903 the svwc supplied a population of 860, 173 in 128, 871 houses of which 122, 728 (95. 3 %) had a constant supply .
click here to learn more about the 1852 relocation of the lambeth waterworks company intake to seething wells, thames ditton .
the east london waterworks company replaced their reservoir at clapton by a reservoir at stamford hill in 1891. [ 18 ]
in 1833 the south london waterworks company was supplying 12, 046 houses with approximately 12, 000 gallons of water .
the water supplied by the company was taken from the lea, with waterworks on 30 acres (0. 12 km
the lambeth waterworks company expanded in 1802 to supply kennington and about this time replaced its wooden pipes with iron ones. [ 7 ]
the lambeth waterworks company expanded in 1802 to supply kennington and about this time replaced its wooden pipes with iron ones. [ 6 ]
in his book, john snow published map 2 which showed the water distribution of the lambeth company and the southwark and vauxhall company. shown to the right is a section of map 2, from the river thames in the north to the streatham district in the south .
the south london water works company was incorporated in 1805 and originally drew its water from the effra which flowed into the thames at vauxhall creek. the company constructed works at kennington and vauxhall bridge. in 1832 the supply of water from the effra was abandoned. two years later the company changed its name to the vauxhall water works company and a limitation on its right to supply part of lambeth and newington (already within the lambeth water works company' s area) was lifted at the same time by statute .
click here to learn more about the pre - 1852 intake of the lambeth waterworks company near the base of hungerford bridge .
the east london waterworks company replaced their reservoir at clapton by a new reservoir at stamford hill in 1891. [ 17 ]
prior to their transfer to the greater london record office, the records of the southwark and vauxhall water company were housed in muniment rooms at thames water premises, seething wells, surbiton and at new river head, rosebery avenue, ec1 .
according to a return which was made to parliament, the southwark and vauxhall company supplied 40, 046 houses from january 1st to december 31st, 1853, and the lambeth company supplied 26, 107 houses during the same period; consequently, as 286 fatal attacks of cholera took place, in the first four weeks of the epidemic, in houses supplied by the former company, and only 14 in houses supplied by the latter, the proportion of fatal attacks to each 10, 000 houses was as follows. southwark and vauxhall 71. lambeth 5. the cholera was therefore fourteen times as fatal at this period, amongst persons having the impure water of the southwark and vauxhall company, as amongst those having the purer water from thames ditton .
also around 1855, the southwark and vauxhall water company established a reservoir north of nunhead cemetery in southeast london, and built water lines to connect both the hampton and nunhead locations to the main battersea works (see snow' s map 2 below) .
in 1761 the london bridge waterworks company acquired the rights to supply water to southwark and extended their mains across the bridge (a very early cross - river supply). in 1822 the act was passed to remove old london bridge and its waterworks. the new owners of operations, the new river company, sold their interest south of the thames to john edwards vaughan who joined it to his existing bankside works to form the southwark water works .
waterworks were established in east london, at west ham in 1743 and at lea bridge before 1767 .
the south london water works company was incorporated in 1805 and originally drew its water from the effra which flowed into the thames at vauxhall creek. the company constructed works at kennington and vauxhall bridge. in 1832 the supply of water from the effra was abandoned as the water was polluted and silted up. two years later, in 1834, the company changed its name to the vauxhall water works company and a limitation on its right to supply part of lambeth and newington (already within the lambeth water works company' s area) was lifted at the same time by statute .
the chelsea waterworks company and the lambeth waterworks company, who shared the services of james simpson, established facilities at seething wells between thames ditton and surbiton. the chelsea' s former site was taken over by the railways to make space for victoria station. the grand junction, west middlesex and southwark and vauxhall waterworks companies set up facilities above molesey lock at hampton designed by joseph quick. the stain hill reservoirs and sunnyside reservoir were constructed in hampton by the svwc in 1855, with a 36 - inch (910 mm) diameter main to battersea. a third reservoir was opened later in the year between nunhead cemetery and peckham rye. [ 9 ]
the amalgamated company established waterworks at battersea fields with two depositing reservoirs with a capacity of 32 million gallons; and two filtering reservoirs holding 11 million gallons .
in july 1834 the southwark water company was incorporated and empowered to buy up vaughan' s undertaking and to construct new works at battersea. the old intake at bankside was abandoned at the same time and a temporary supply was taken from the lambeth company .
cholera reappeared in london in june 1853. john snow asked permission to obtain (from william farr) the addresses of people who died of cholera in the districts which received water supplies from both the southwark and vauxhall and the lambeth companies .
after the merger in 1845, the new southwark and vauxhall water company was in residence by the river thames, just to the east of battersea park. the picture at the right shows the location in 1854, derived from map 2 in john snow' s book .
of the vauxhall water company’s supply, hassall wrote, ‘it is water the most disgusting which i have ever examined. when i first saw the water of the southwark company, i thought it as bad as it could be, but this far exceeded it in the peculiarly repulsive character of living contents’ .
the west middlesex waterworks company was founded in 1806 to supply water to the marylebone and paddington areas of london. in 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at hammersmith. [ 8 ]
the west middlesex waterworks company was founded in 1806 to supply water to the marylebone and paddington areas of london. in 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at hammersmith. [ 7 ]
the first public works was the waterworks of the southwark (& vauxhall) water company, established in 1840–1, nine elms having been selected as an ideal site from which to draw drinking water from the thames for the people of south london. the second was the gasworks of the london gas light company, established beside an old tide - mill pond in the 1850s as an outstation, but greatly extended soon after to become the company’s main works [ 2 ] .
the west middlesex waterworks company established a 3. 5 million gallon reservoir at campden hill near notting hill. in 1825 the company built a new reservoir at barrow hill next to primrose hill in north london .
the west middlesex waterworks company was founded by serial entrepreneur ralph dodd in 1806 to supply water to the marylebone and paddington areas of london. in 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at hammersmith .
the chelsea waterworks company was established in 1723
for the better supplying the city and liberties of westminster and parts adjacent with water
. [ 5 ] the company received a royal charter on 8 march 1723. [ 6 ] the company created extensive ponds in the area bordering chelsea and pimlico using water from the tidal thames .
the chelsea waterworks company was established in 1723
for the better supplying the city and liberties of westminster and parts adjacent with water
. [ 4 ] the company received a royal charter on 8 march 1723. [ 5 ] the company created extensive ponds in the area bordering chelsea and pimlico using water from the tidal thames .
chelsea waterworks, 1752. two newcomen beam engines pumped thames water from a canal to reservoirs at green park and hyde park .
in 1761 the london bridge water works bought this business from a james whitchurch whose father had acquired it from wilkinson. in 1822 the new river company took over the london bridge water works and sold this southwark interest to a mr edwards vaughan who, in 1820, had become the proprietor of another undertaking, the borough waterworks. having acquired the two concerns edwards vaughan consolidated them at bankside and named them the southwark water works .
the southwark and vauxhall water company acquired land at hampton in 1851 and in 1852 an act was obtained to sanction the construction of new works and to enlarge the authorised supply area. in 1870 the company began filtering the water at hampton and the following year, in order to prepare for the introduction of constant supply, decided to construct four covered reservoirs at nunhead. peckham, to be supplied with filtered water from hampton .
it will be observed, that the water of the companies on the surrey side of london, viz. , the southwark, vauxhall, and lambeth, is by far the worst of all those who take their supply from the thames .
when the water of the southwark and vauxhall company was examined by messrs. graham, miller, and hofmann, at the latter part of january 1851, it contained only 1. 99 grains of chloride of sodium, or about one - twentieth as much as it contained last september, and one - fifteenth as much as on 21st november 1854 .
copyright © 2018 vauxhall history · data provided is for information purposes only. although carefully collected, accuracy cannot be guaranteed .
at the forefront of such engine design was sir james restler, the chief engineer to the southwark & vauxhall water company. his design of the first rotative pumping engines was constructed by moreland & son in 1886, thus the moreland engine house takes its name. as steam and pumping technology rapidly evolved, so new and more efficient engines were added .
it may, indeed, be confidently asserted, that if the southwark and vauxhall water company had been able to use the same expedition as the lambeth company in completing their new works, and obtaining water free from the contents of sewers, the late epidemic of cholera would have been confined in a great measure to persons employed among the shipping, and to poor people who get water by pailsful direct from the thames or tidal ditches .
the works at kennington were dismantled and conveyed to the phoenix gas company in 1847 .
he then went on to compare the death rates from cholera in the two areas. he used this information to calculate how much more risky southwark and vauxhall water was compared to lambeth water. in other words, he looked for an association between water source and the risk of death from cholera .
the mwb opened the east london waterworks reservoirs banbury reservoir and lockwood reservoir, and the bessborough reservoir, knight reservoir and island barn reservoirs at molesey. it also opened the kempton park reservoirs in around 1907 .
as london’s population rapidly grew in the latter part of the 19th century, so did the demand for clean water. one of the water companies at hampton, the southwark & vauxhall water co. , responded to the demand and began to construct new, improved pumping stations on the current ‘morelands’ site in 1870s and 1880s .
in 1718 a grant was made by the city of london to francis wilkinson to supply water to southwark, procuring water from the thames .
in 1832 the lambeth waterworks company built a reservoir at streatham hill, and in 1834 obtained an act of parliament to extend its area of supply. in the same year, the company purchased 16 acres (65, 000 m 2) of land in brixton and built a reservoir and works on brixton hill adjacent to brixton prison. [ 13 ]
in 1832 the lambeth waterworks company built a reservoir at streatham hill, and in 1834 obtained an act of parliament to extend its area of supply. in the same year, the company purchased 16 acres (65, 000 m 2) of land in brixton and built a reservoir and works on brixton hill adjacent to brixton prison. [ 12 ]
the number of houses in london at the time of the last census was 327, 391. if the houses supplied with water by the southwark and vauxhall company, and the deaths from cholera occurring in these houses, be deducted, we shall have in the remainder of london 287, 345 houses, in which 277 deaths from cholera took place in the first four weeks of the epidemic. this is at the rate of nine deaths to each 10, 000. but the houses supplied with water by the lambeth company only suffered a mortality of five in each 10, 000 at this period; it follows, therefore, that these houses, although intimately mixed with those of the southwark and vauxhall company, in which so great a proportional mortality occurred, did not suffer even so much as the rest of london which was not so situated .
it is extremely worthy of remark, that whilst only five hundred and sixty - three deaths from cholera occurred in the whole of the metropolis, in the four weeks ending 5th august, more than one half of them took place amongst the customers of the southwark and vauxhall company, and a great portion of the remaining deaths were those of mariners and persons employed amongst the shipping in the thames, who almost invariably draw their drinking water direct from the river .
the table exhibits an increase of mortality in 1854 as compared with 1849, in the sub - districts supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company only, whilst there is a considerable diminution of mortality in the sub - districts partly supplied by the lambeth company. in certain sub - districts, where i know that the supply of the lambeth water company is more general than elsewhere, as christchurch, london road, waterloo road 1st, and lambeth church 1st, the decrease of mortality in 1854 as compared with 1849 is greatest, as might be expected .
the reader will observe from the last division of the table that the proportion of deaths was, in every subdistrict, very much greater amongst the population supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company than amongst that supplied by the lambeth company, and that the relative mortality is nearly the same throughout, except in two or three instances, where there were but one or two deaths for the basis of calculation amongst the customers of the lambeth company. the second table shows the results of that part of the inquiry conducted by mr. whiting, treated in a similar manner .
in 1845 the limits of supply of the east london waterworks company were described as
all those portions of the metropolis, and its suburbs, which lie to the east of the city, shoreditch, the kingsland road, and dalston; extending their mains even across the river lea into essex, as far as west ham .
[ 14 ] the water supplied by the company was taken from the lea, with waterworks on 30 acres (0. 12 km 2) of land at old ford .
in 1845 the limits of supply of the east london waterworks company were described as
all those portions of the metropolis, and its suburbs, which lie to the east of the city, shoreditch, the kingsland road, and dalston; extending their mains even across the river lea into essex, as far as west ham .
[ 13 ] the water supplied by the company was taken from the lea, with waterworks on 30 acres (0. 12 km 2) of land at old ford .
at the time i was making my inquiry, the entire number of houses supplied by each water company was known, from a return made to parliament, but the number of houses supplied in each district and subdistrict by each company respectively was not known. in order, therefore, to see the exact bearing of my results, i found it desirable to extend the inquiry over the districts supplied exclusively by the southwark and vauxhall company; for this purpose i obtained the assistance of mr. whiting, a medical man, who took great pains with his part of the inquiry, which was merely to ascertain whether the houses in which fatal attacks had taken place were supplied by the southwark company, or from some other source, as a pump well or tidal ditch. his inquiry extended over the first four weeks of the epidemic .
the 1852 metropolitan water act forced the joint company to build new works at hampton in 1855. the company was taken over by metropolitan water board in 1902 .
in 2012 thames water sold the morelands & riverdale buildings to mr andrew black. thames water still own and operate all the filter beds and the other original pump houses at the hampton waterworks, west of this site .
in 1825, the ponds of the chelsea waterwork company were used as the basis of the grosvenor canal which was opened to traffic that year. by this time there were complaints about the quality of the water that the company was drawing from the river thames, and in 1829, under engineer james simpson the chelsea waterworks company became the first in the country to install a slow sand filtration system to purify the water. [ 11 ]
in 1825, the ponds of the chelsea waterwork company were used as the basis of the grosvenor canal which was opened to traffic that year. by this time there were complaints about the quality of the water that the company was drawing from the river thames, and in 1829, under engineer james simpson the chelsea waterworks company became the first in the country to install a slow sand filtration system to purify the water. [ 10 ]
in the beginning of the late epidemic of cholera in london, the thames water seems to have been the great means of its diffusion, either through the pipes of the southwark and vauxhall company, or more directly by dipping a pail in the river. cholera was prevailing in the baltic fleet in the early part of summer, and the following passage from the
weekly returns
of the registrar - general shows that the disease was probably imported thence to the thames .
in the mid 19th century the east london waterworks company purchased the coppermill at walthamstow and modified it to drive a water pump to assist in the building of reservoirs on nearby marshland in the lea valley. [ 17 ] the company built a series of reservoirs which were high maynard reservoir, low maynard reservoir, five linked numbered reservoirs making the walthamstow reservoirs, the east warwick reservoir and the west warwick reservoir .
in the mid 19th century the east london waterworks company purchased the coppermill at walthamstow and modified it to drive a water pump to assist in the building of reservoirs on nearby marshland in the lea valley. [ 16 ] the company built a series of reservoirs which were high maynard reservoir, low maynard reservoir, five linked numbered reservoirs making the walthamstow reservoirs, the east warwick reservoir and the west warwick reservoir .
while the southward and vauxhall water company made many changes during the 1850s, they occurred after 1853 - 54 when cholera was again epidemic in london. during the time of the epidemic, its intake was still in battersea area of the river thames, and thus still contaminated with cholera and other organisms. discovering this provided john snow with the opportunity of the grand experiment of 1854 .
throughout the 1890s additions were made to the hampton works and by 1903 the company was able to dispense with the battersea works .
in 1845 new works were built at battersea on the approximate side of the power station and in 1855 an intake from the thames was introduced at hampton. wells were also sunk at streatham, honor oak and merton abbey in 1888 and 1902. in 1861 the company took over the richmond water company .
the grand junction waterworks company built a pumping station near kew bridge at brentford in 1838 to house its new steam pump and two similar pumps purchased from boulton, watt and company in 1820. the water was taken from the middle of the river and pumped into filtering reservoirs and to a 200 ft (61 m) high water tower to provide gravity feed to the area. a six to seven mile (11 km) main took the water to a reservoir on campden hill near notting hill capable of containing 6 million gallons .
in 1829, the east london waterworks company moved their source of water further up river to lea bridge as a result of pollution caused by population growth. clean water was now abstracted from the natural channel which had been by - passed by the hackney cut, to a new reservoir at old ford. [ 12 ] in 1830 the company gained a lease on the existing reservoir at clapton .
in 1829, the east london waterworks company moved their source of water further up river to lea bridge as a result of pollution caused by population growth. clean water was now abstracted from the natural channel which had been by - passed by the hackney cut, to a new reservoir at old ford. [ 11 ] in 1830 the company gained a lease on the existing reservoir at clapton .
the lambeth waterworks company was founded in 1785 to supply water to south and west london. it was established on the south bank of the river thames close to the present site of hungerford bridge where the royal festival hall now stands. the first water intake of the company was on the south side of the river and supplied directly from the river. after complaints that the water was foul, the intake was moved to the middle of the river. [ 7 ]
the lambeth waterworks company was founded in 1785 to supply water to south and west london. it was established on the south bank of the river thames close to the present site of hungerford bridge where the royal festival hall now stands. the first water intake of the company was on the south side of the river and supplied directly from the river. after complaints that the water was foul, the intake was moved to the middle of the river. [ 6 ]
the single largest infrastructure project in recent years has been the creation of the thames water ring main, a
backbone network
for london' s water supply. [ 22 ] this connects all the waterworks, and pumping stations ,
the grand junction waterworks company was created in 1811 to take advantage of a clause in the grand junction canal company' s act which allowed them to supply water brought by the canal from the river colne and river brent, and from a reservoir in the north - west middlesex supplied by land drainage. it was thought that these waters would be better than those of the thames, but in fact they were found to be of poor quality and insufficient to meet demand. after trying to resolve these problems the company resorted to taking their supply from the river thames at a point near chelsea hospital [ 9 ]
the grand junction waterworks company was created in 1811 to take advantage of a clause in the grand junction canal company' s act which allowed them to supply water brought by the canal from the river colne and river brent, and from a reservoir in the north - west middlesex supplied by land drainage. it was thought that these waters would be better than those of the thames, but in fact they were found to be of poor quality and insufficient to meet demand. after trying to resolve these problems the company resorted to taking their supply from the river thames at a point near chelsea hospital [ 8 ]
in table viii, showing the mortality in the first seven weeks of the epidemic, the water supply is the result of my own personal inquiry, in every case, in all the sub - districts to which the supply of the lambeth company extends; but in some of the subdistricts supplied only by the southwark and vauxhall company, the inquiry of mr. whiting having extended only to 5th august, the water supply of the last three weeks is calculated to have been in the same proportion by the company, or by pump wells, etc. , as in the first four weeks, - - a calculation which is perfectly fair, and must be very near the truth. the sub - districts in which the supply is partly founded on computation, are marked with an asterisk .
how did it happen, if the character of the water has a great influence on the mortality from cholera, that in the belgrave district only 28 persons in 10, 000 died, and in the westminster district, also supplied by the chelsea company, 68 persons in 10, 000; and, again, that in the wandsworth district the mortality was only 100, and in the district of st. olave 181 in 10, 000 inhabitants - - both these districts receiving their supply from the southwark company ?
as the registrar - general published a list of all the deaths from cholera which occurred in london in 1853, from the commencement of the epidemic in august to its conclusion in january 1854, i have been able to add up the number which occurred in the various sub - districts on the south side of the thames, to which the water supply of the southwark and vauxhall, and the lambeth companies, extends. i have presented them in the table opposite, arranged in three groups .
in 1847, the directors of the lambeth waterworks company decided to move the intake from the hungerford bridge area to a new location, away from the thames tides that brought contaminated water to their intake. they selected seething wells next to thames ditton, 22 miles up river and far from the contaminated water in the london section of the river .
in the subdistricts here enumerated, which were supplied, except just on the border of three of them, exclusively by the vauxhall company, the mortality will be observed to be nearly the same, only a little higher, than [ 246 / 247 ] amongst the population supplied by the same company, and mixed with that supplied by the lambeth company, as shown in the previous table. in the third table the figures contained in the two first are collected into a more compact form, to show the result of the inquiry during the first part of the epidemic, arranged in districts .
although the legislation that established the london water companies intended that they would compete for customers, in 1815 the east london company drew up a legal agreement with the new river company defining a boundary between their areas of supply .
areas of london. in 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at hammersmith .
in 1898 the svwc started work on the bessborough reservoir and the knight reservoir across the thames from hampton at molesey. by 1903 the svwc supplied a population of 860, 173 in 128, 871 houses of which 122, 728 (95. 3 %) had a constant supply. [ 19 ] the lambeth waterworks company started work on island barn reservoir at molesey in 1900 .
to extend its area of supply. in the same year, the company purchased 16 acres (65, 000 m
in 1898 the svwc started work on the bessborough reservoir and the knight reservoir which were across the river from hampton at molesey. by 1903 the svwc supplied a population of 860, 173 in 128, 871 houses of which 122, 728 (95. 3 %) had a constant supply. [ 18 ] the lambeth waterworks company started work on island barn reservoir at molesey in 1900 .
, obtained from the thames at millbank, was filtered through sand and charcoal till it looked as clear as that of the chelsea company; yet, in every epidemic, the inmates of this prison suffered much more from cholera than the inhabitants of the neighboring streets and those of tothill fields prison, supplied by that company .
a return had been made to parliament of the entire number of houses supplied with water by each of the water companies, but as the number of houses which they supplied in particular districts was not stated, i found that it would be necessary to carry my inquiry into all the districts to which the supply of either company extends, in order to show the full bearing of the facts brought out in those districts where the supply is intermingled. i inquired myself respecting every death from cholera in the districts to which the supply of the lambeth company extends, and i was fortunate enough to obtain the assistance of a medical man, mr. john joseph whiting, l. a. c. , to make inquiry in bermondsey, rotherhithe, wandsworth, and certain other districts, which are supplied only by the southwark and vauxhall company. mr. whiting took great pains with his part of the inquiry, which was to ascertain whether the houses in which the fatal attacks took place were supplied with the company' s water, or from a pump - well, or some other source .
in 1897 the new river company started developing the treatment works spanning kempton park and hanworth to supply more water than their facilities at cricklewood drawing on the river brent .
at first they used wood mains to transport the water to customers, but then replaced them with iron in the early 1800s. in 1832, the company constructed a reservoir at streatham hill, and then in 1834 constructed new waterworks and a second reservoir in brixton. two years later they sold some of their new brixton site to the city to construct a prison. all this while, the intake remained in the polluted region of the river thames .
' among the recent cases of cholera, not one has occurred in the district supplied by the kent water company .
it is necessarily arranged in districts - for the results were so published in the weekly returns (7) - and not in subdistricts. the mortality during the last ten weeks of the epidemic was greater than during the first seven weeks, but the reader will observe that a very great disproportion continues in every district between the mortality of the population supplied by one company and that supplied by the other. there is no district to which the supply of both companies extends in which the mortality is not more than three times as great amongst the persons supplied by the southwark company as amongst those supplied by the lambeth company, and the general result shows a proportion of ninety - one to eighteen, or more than five to one, as was stated before .
it was not until 1902 that the metropolis water act was passed, leading to the creation of the metropolitan water board. this took over eight private water companies, taking over the new river company headquarters on rosebery avenue, clerkenwell. the board was made up of 66 delegated members, 14 from the london county council, 31 from the metropolitan borough councils and city corporation, and 21 from the authorities of localities outside the water companies' areas. from 1907 widespread reservoir and waterworks building was carried out .
in 1897 the new river company started developing the treatment works at kempton park to supply additional water to their facilities at cricklewood .
a specimen of water obtained on 21st november, from a house supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company, contained 28. 8 grains of common salt per gallon, or about three - quarters as much as it contained in september, when the quantity was 37. 9 grains. it is very obvious from the above analyses, that the water company obtain their supply from the thames at high water, or nearly so, although this is the time of the tide when the water contains the greatest amount of impurity. it is quite certain that the sea water cannot reach to thames ditton, any more than the contents of the london sewers, and therefore, whatever may be its source, the quantity of chloride of sodium in the water is quite conclusive as regards the purpose for which i examined into it, viz. , to distinguish between the water of the two companies .
the construction of london' s current water distribution infrastructure dates back to the great fire of london in 1666, which destroyed most of the city' s previous water infrastructure, most of which was made of wood and lead. [ 2 ] one waterworks not affected by the fire was at shadwell which dated from 1660. the city' s water supply and distribution infrastructure has been continuously updated and upgraded since then .
which was opened to traffic that year. by this time there were complaints about the quality of the water that the company was drawing from the river thames, and in 1829, under engineer
from 1974 the administration of the metropolitan water board was transferred to the new thames water authority. in 1989 thames water became a private company and set up a principal operating subsidiary, thames water utilities limited, to supply water and sewerage services .
the appearance of the southwark and vauxhall site was similar in reynolds' s map of 1859. what changed, however, was the name of the bridges. in snow' s map 2, there are two bridges, one on each side of battersea park (the batters bridge and the battersea bridge). the newer of the two on the east side of the park was built in 1851 - 8. it was a suspension bridge with cast - iron towers. after being completed in 1858, it was named the chelsea bridge in the 1859 map (see to the left), different from battersea bridge as shown in snow' s map 2 of 1854 .
the construction of london' s current water distribution infrastructure dates back to the great fire of london in 1666, which destroyed most of the city' s previous water infrastructure, most of which was made of wood and lead. [ 2 ] one waterworks not affected by the fire was at shadwell by the thames which dated from 1660. the city' s water supply and distribution infrastructure has been continuously updated and upgraded since then .
a major 21st large infrastructure investment has been the creation of the thames water ring main, a
backbone network
for london' s water supply. this period also saw contingency planning reserve facilities used mostly in times of drought built at beckton. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] this connects all the waterworks, and pumping stations .
in the north districts of london, which suffered much less from cholera than the south districts, the mortality was chiefly influenced by the poverty and crowding of the population. the new river company having entirely left off the use of their engine in the city, their water, being entirely free from sewage, could have had no share in the propagation of cholera. it is probable also, that the water of the east london company, obtained above lea bridge, had no share in propagating the malady; and that this is true also of the west middlesex company, obtaining their supply from the thames at hammersmith; and of the grand junction company, obtaining their supply at brentford. all these water companies have large settling reservoirs. it is probable also, as i stated above, that the chelsea company in 1849, by careful filtration and by detaining the water in their reservoirs, rendered it in a great degree innocuous .
a high service reservoir was built on forest hill in 1887 and a pumping station at wandsworth was brought into use in 1891 for pumping to wimbledon and the higher levels. wells were sunk at streatham in 1888 and later at honor oak (1901) and merton abbey (1902). throughout the 1890s additions were made to the hampton works and by 1903 the company was able to dispense with the battersea works .
goodman, david c. and chant, colin (1999) european cities and technology (london: routledge) .
in the worst condition in which it is possible to conceive any water to be, as regards its animalcular contents. …a curious fact in connection with the water of the southwark company has been mentioned to me by mr hett, surgeon of bridge street, viz: …that a gauze bag tied to the tap of the water cistern is found at the end of a few days to contain a mass sufficient to fill an eggshell, consisting principally of the hairs of mammalian animals.
the southwark and vauxhall waterworks company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south london in england . the company was formed by the merger of the southwark and vauxhall water companies in 1845 and became part of the publicly owned metropolitan water board in 1903 . 
the southwark and vauxhall waterworks company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south london in england. the company was formed by the merger of the southwark and vauxhall water companies in 1845 and became part of the publicly owned metropolitan water board in 1903.
the southwark and vauxhall waterworks company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south london in england. the company was formed by the merger of the southwark and vauxhall water companies in 1845 and became part of the publicly owned metropolitan water board in 1903.