Group    From 1806  To 1903

West Middlesex Water Company

Categories: Engineering, Food & Drink

A utility company which supplied water to parts of West London. It was established in premises on the banks of the River Thames at Hammersmith, the central part of which was designed by William Tierney Clark. The company eventually became part of the publicly owned Metropolitan Water Board.

The works on Upper Mall were demolished in 1965-8. Panorama of the Thames says Clark was appointed Clerk of the Works in 1810 (bet his fiends joshed him about being Clerk Clark) and describes the building and its history.

London Metropolitan Archives gives:
"The West Middlesex Water Works were established in 1806 to supply the Western Suburbs. They were originally proposed by Robert Dodd, a civil engineer, to supply the area around Hammersmith and Kensington. The company was incorporated in 1806 with a capital of £80,000. After a disagreement over the location of the works, Dodd resigned and William Nicholson took over in 1807 to oversee the establishment of a works at Hammersmith. Under an act designed to increase the capital of the company by £160,000, the area covered by the West Middlesex Water Company was extended to include the parishes of St James Westminster, St Anne's Soho, St Mary-le-Strand, St Clement Danes, St Paul's Covent Garden, Paddington, Marylebone, St Pancras, St George Bloomsbury and St Giles in the Fields.

"In 1825 a pump was built to channel water to a new reservoir at Barrow Hill, near Primrose Hill. New reservoirs were constructed at Barnes in 1838 and in 1866 the company entered into an agreement with the Thames Conservancy which allowed it to draw an extra 4 million gallons of water from the river per day.

"The company was taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board under the Metropolitan Water Act, 1902."

1884 map showing the area supplied.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
West Middlesex Water Company

Commemorated ati

William Tierney Clark - Fulham Reach

William Tierney Clark 1783 - 1852 {Beneath Clark's portrait and a representat...

Read More

Other Subjects

John Coode

John Coode

Born Bodmin, Cornwall. Civil Engineer, particularly involved with harbours: Portland, Table Bay and Colombo. Also Suez Canal. Died Brighton.

Person, Engineering

1 memorial
James Muil Smith

James Muil Smith

Junior 4th Engineer on the RMS Titanic. A full résumé of his life can be found on the Encyclopedia Titanica website. He is also commemorated on the Engineers Memorial, Andrews East Park, Above Bar...

Person, Engineering, Tragedy, Scotland

1 memorial
Pierre Cérésole

Pierre Cérésole

Engineer and peace activist. Born in Lausanne. He worked in the United States and Japan, returning to Switzerland at the outbreak of WW1. He became a conscientious objector, and was imprisoned beca...

Person, Engineering, Peace, Switzerland

1 memorial
Brunel's Thames Tunnel

Brunel's Thames Tunnel

The first tunnel in the world under a navigable river. Built between 1825 and 1843 using the tunnelling shield technology invented by Marc Brunel. It was originally intended to be used for horse-dr...

Place, Engineering, Transport

5 memorials
William Cawthorne Unwin

William Cawthorne Unwin

Civil and mechanical engineer.  Born Essex.  1900 he became the first London University professor of engineering. Died unmarried, at his home, 7 Palace Gate Mansions, 29 Palace Gate.

Person, Education, Engineering

2 memorials

Previously viewed

Diocese of Sourozh

Diocese of Sourozh

The Russian Orthodox Great Britain and Ireland diocese. The Archbishop is known as Metropolitan, the first being Metropolitan Anthony who held the post until his death.

Concept, Religion, Russia

1 memorial
Ian Stuart

Ian Stuart

Musician, leading skinhead, far right-wing fund-raiser.  Born Ian Stuart Donaldson in Lancashire. Singer of white power rock band Skrewdriver and co-founder of Blood and Honour, a very successful n...

Person, Music / songs, Politics & Administration

1 memorial