West Middlesex Waterworks Company

Last updated

The Company of Proprietors of the West Middlesex Water Works Company
Company type Public
West Middlesex Waterworks Company
Industry Water supply
Founded1806 (1806) in London, UK
Founder Ralph Dodd
DefunctJune 24, 1904 (1904-06-24)
Fate Municipalised
Successor Metropolitan Water Board
West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1810 [a]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1801-1816).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the West Middlesex Waterworks to raise a further Sum of Money; and to alter, vary, amend and enlarge the Powers of the Act passed in the Forty sixth Year of His present Majesty, for making the said Waterworks; and for extending the same.
Citation 50 Geo. 3. c. cxxxii
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 24 May 1810
Commencement 24 May 1810 [b]
Other legislation
Amends West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1806
Amended by
Relates to
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1813 [a]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1801-1816).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to authorize the Company of Proprietors of the West Middlesex Waterworks to raise a further Sum of Money, for enabling them more effectually to carry on their Works.
Citation 53 Geo. 3. c. xxxvi
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 15 April 1813
Commencement 15 April 1813 [b]
Other legislation
Amends
Amended by West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1852
Relates to
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1852 [c]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act for enabling the Company of Proprietors of the West Middlesex Waterworks to obtain by Agreement a Supply of Water from the Thames above the Reach of the Tide, and to raise further Capital, and for other Purposes.
Citation 15 & 16 Vict. c. clix
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 30 June 1852
Commencement 22 July 1852 [d]
Other legislation
Amends
Amended by
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1860 [d]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the West Middlesex Waterworks to raise a further Sum of Money; and for other Purposes.
Citation 23 & 24 Vict. c. i
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 23 March 1860
Commencement 23 March 1860 [b]
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
West Middlesex Water Act 1866
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act for extending the Limits within which the West Middlesex Waterworks Company may supply Water, and for other Purposes.
Citation 29 & 30 Vict. c. vi
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 30 April 1866
Commencement 30 April 1866 [b]
Other legislation
Amends West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1852
Amended by
Status: Amended
West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1869 [d]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to enable the Company of Proprietors of the West Middlesex Waterworks to raise a further sum of money; and for other purposes.
Citation 32 & 33 Vict. c. i
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 13 May 1869
Commencement 13 May 1869 [b]
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1894 [d]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation 57 & 58 Vict. c. clxv
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 17 August 1894
Commencement 17 August 1894 [b]
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1899 [d]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to confer further powers upon the Company of Proprietors of the West Middlesex Waterworks with respect to the construction of works the taking of water from the River Thames and the raising of capital and for other purposes.
Citation 62 & 63 Vict. c. xci
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 13 July 1899
Commencement 13 July 1899 [b]
Other legislation
Amended by Thames Conservancy Act 1911
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted

The West Middlesex Waterworks Company (also known as The Company of Proprietors of the West Middlesex Water Works Company) was a utility company supplying water to parts of West London in England. The company was established in 1806 with works at Hammersmith and became part of the publicly owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1904.

Contents

Origins

The West Middlesex Waterworks Company was founded by serial entrepreneur Ralph Dodd in 1806 to supply water to parts of West London, including Marylebone and Paddington, in the counties of Middlesex and Surrey from the River Thames.

On 12 July 1806, the Company of Proprietors of the West Middlesex Water Works was incorporated by the West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1806 (46 Geo. 3. c. cxix). [1] The act authorised the proprietors of the West Middlesex Waterworks Company to raise £30,000, divided into shares of £100 each, with power to raise a further sum of £50,000. [1]

In 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at Hammersmith. [2] [3]

Infrastructure

The water company established a 3.5 million gallon reservoir at Campden Hill near Notting Hill just west of Central London. Soon after, in 1825 the company built a new reservoir at Barrow Hill next to Primrose Hill just north of Central London. In the 1850s the quality of drinking water in London was connected to poor public health. John Snow examined the state of waters in 1849 and noted that the West Middlesex was less subject to cholera because its intakes were upstream and it had large reservoirs. [4] The Metropolis Water Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 84) was enacted under the conclusions of a report of the Metropolitan Water Board "to make provision for securing the supply to the Metropolis of pure and wholesome water". Under the act it became unlawful for any water company to extract water for domestic use from the tidal reaches of the Thames after 31 August 1855, and from 31 December 1855 all such water was required to be "effectually filtered". [5] The company closed the Hammersmith site and new pumping works were established between Sunbury and Molesey Locks at Hampton. The Hampton facility was completed in 1855 and was shared with the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company and the Grand Junction Waterworks Company.

See also

Notes

References

  1. 1 2 "West Middlesex Waterworks Act 1806". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  2. ↑ "BRIEF HISTORY DURING THE SNOW ERA – UCLA Department of Epidemiology West Middlesex Waterworks history". ph.ucla.edu. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Roberts, G. (2006). Chelsea to Cairo-- 'Taylor-made' Water Through Eleven Reigns and in Six Continents: A History of John Taylor & Sons and Their Predecessors. Thomas Telford. ISBN   9780727734112 . Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "John Snow On the Mode of Communication of Cholera (Pamphlet) 1849, 1850" (PDF). matrix.msu.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  5. ↑ An Act to make better Provision respecting the Supply of Water to the Metropolis, (15 & 16 Vict. c. 84)
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