Fitz Stephen (William) a learned Monk of Canterbury, being attached to the Service of Archbishop Becket was present at the time of his murder. In the year 1174 he wrote in Latin the life of St. Thomas, Archbishop and Martyr, in which as Becket was a native of the Metropolis, he introduces a description of the City of London with a miscellaneous detail of the manners and usages of the Citizens; this is deservedly considered a great curiosity, being the earliest professed account of London extant. He describes the springs and water courses which abound in the vicinity of Old London as "sweet, salubrious, and clear," so that all that the inhabitants and water-carriers had to do was to draw water from the wells and springs, or dip their vessels in the pellucid stream of the river which was fit for culinary and all ordinary and domestic purposes. London then though considered a "Great City" was as a small town when compared with its teeming population of nearly 5,000,000 which people its City and environs now.[1] Since that time the Majestic Thames and its tributary streams have been so polluted with sewerage and other deleterious and poisonous matter as to induce some of the most scientific men of the age to consider not only the desirability but the necessity of obtaining for London a pure water supply. It is asserted as a fact that in England and Wales alone upwards of eight hundred persons die every month from typhoid fever; a disease which is now believed to be caused almost entirely through drinking impure water, and Dr. Frankland, the official to whom is entrusted the analysing of such matters reports "The Thames Water" notwithstanding the care that is taken to filter it by certain Water Companies is so much polluted by organic matters as to be quite unfit for dietetic purposes.
[1] The London Metropolitan District covers an area of 690 square miles—contains 6612 miles of streets. 528,794 inhabited houses; Population (June 1873) 4,025,559.
The first conduit erected in the City of London (Westcheap now Cheapside) was commenced in the year 1235 but was not completed till 50 years afterwards (1285). The Citizens, who had to fetch their water from the Thames often met with opposition from those who resided in the lanes leading down to the river who monopolized the right of procuring a water supply by stopping and imposing a duty upon others who sought to obtain it. This state of things as might be expected became unbearable and in 1342 an inquisition was made and persons were sworn to inquire into the stoppages and annoyances complained of in the several Wards. In the fifteenth century the authorities of the City had erected New Conduits and had laid down leaden pipes. "In 1439 the Abbot of Westminster granted to Robert Large, the Lord Mayor, and the Citizens of London, and their successors, one head of water containing twenty-six perches in length and one in breadth, together with all the springs in the Manor of Paddington for an annual payment of two peppercorns." In the sixteenth century owing to the increased population and the drying up of the springs other means of supply were obtained in the neighbourhoods of Hampstead Heath, Hackney, and Muswell Hill. An Act of Parliament applied for by the Corporation was passed in 1544 for the purpose of obtaining from these springs an increased supply for the North Western portions of the City. The scheme however was not carried out until the year 1590 when another important source of supply had been procured. In 1568 a conduit was constructed at Dowgate, for the purpose of obtaining water from the Thames. "In 1580 Peter Morice, an ingenious Dutchman brought his scheme for raising the Thames Water high enough to supply the upper parts of the City, and in order to show its feasibility he threw a jet of water over the steeple of St. Magnus Church, a lease of 500 years of the Thames Water, and the places where his mills stood, and of one of the arches of London Bridge was granted to Morice, and the Water Works founded by him remained until the beginning of the present century." About the same time that Morice propounded his scheme for utilizing the Water of the Thames, Stow informs us that a man of the name of Russel proposed to bring water into London from Isleworth. In 1591 an Italian named Frederick Genebelli said that he could cleanse the filthy ditches about the city such as the Fleet River, Hounsditch, etc., and bring a plentiful supply of pure, wholesome water to the City through them, but his offer does not appear to have been accepted.
"In 1606 nearly £20,000 was expended in scouring the River Fleet, which was kept open for the purpose of navigation as high as Holborn Bridge." An Act was passed in 1609 for bringing water by means of engines from Hackney Marsh, to supply the City of London; the profits arising from the enterprise were to go to the College of Polemical Divines, founded by Dr. Sutcliffe, at Chelsea. At the close of Queen Elizabeth's Reign an Act was passed empowering the Corporation to cut a river for the purpose of conveying water from Middlesex and Hertfordshire to the City, but nothing was done in this direction till after the accession of James I to the throne. In 1605 and 1606 Acts of Parliament were passed empowering the Corporation to bring water from the Springs of Chadwell and Amwell to the northern parts of the City. The Corporation transferred their power in 1609 to Hugh, afterwards (Sir Hugh) Middleton, Citizen, and Goldsmith, who with characteristic energy entered into the vast scheme which was effectually carried out at an immense expense. On Sept. 29th, 1613 the New River was opened, and London from this source received an abundant supply of water. The New River Company was incorporated in 1620. The City was supplied with its water by the conveyance of wooden pipes in the streets, and small leaden ones to the houses.
Among the Records known as the Remembrancia preserved among the Archives of the City of London. London, 1878. Some curious particulars are mentioned respecting the applications made by various noblemen to be allowed to have pipes, of the size of a goose-quill, attached to the city pipes, for the purpose of supplying their houses with water. "In 1592 Lord Cobham applied to the Lord Mayor for a quill of water from the conduit at Ludgate to his house in Blackfriars, but the consideration of the request was postponed, and in 1594 Lord Burghley wrote to the Lord Mayor and Alderman in support of Lord Cobham's application. Lady Essex and Walsingham asked for a supply of water for Essex-house in 1601, and obtained the Lord Chamberlain's (Earl of Suffolk) influence to further their suit; but on June 8th, 1608, the Lord Mayor wrote to Lord Suffolk that the water in the conduits had become so low, and the poor were so clamorous on account of the dearth, that it became necessary to cut off several of the quills. 'Moreover,' he added, 'complaints had been made of the extraordinary waste of water in Essex-house, it being taken not only for dressing meat, but for the laundry, the stable, and other offices, which might be otherwise served.' As London extended itself westward, and the City came to join Westminster, the drain must have been great upon the water supply, which was originally intended for a considerably smaller area. In 1613 Lord Fenton applied for a quill of water for his house at Charing Cross, but the Lord Mayor refused to grant the request on the ground that the conduits did not supply sufficient water for the City. Sir Francis Bacon (afterwards the great Lord Verulam) asked, in 1617, for a lead pipe to supply York-house, and Alice, Countess of Derby, requested to be allowed a quill of water in the following year. This celebrated lady, afterwards married to Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, lived in St. Martin's-lane, and we learn from the City letter-book (quoted in the index to the Remembrancia) the amount of water supplied to her was at the rate of three gallons an hour. In subsequent years, we notice among the applicants for quills of water the celebrated names of Sir Harry Vane, Denzell Holles, the Dukes of Albemarle and Buckingham, and the Earl of Northumberland." Cavendish and Watt demonstrated that water is composed of 8 parts of Oxygen and 1 part of Hydrogen. In freezing, water contracts till it is reduced to 42° or 40° Fahr. It then begins to expand till it becomes ice at 32°. Water was first conveyed to London by leaden pipes, 21 Henry III. 1237.—Stow.
So late as Queen Anne's time there were water-carriers at Aldgate Pump. The Water Works at Chelsea were completed and the Company incorporated in 1722. London Bridge ancient water works were destroyed by fire, 29th Oct., 1779.
Commissioners for Metropolitan Water Supply appointed 27th April, 1867; Report Signed 9th June, 1869; London supplied by Nine Companies. The New River (the best) East London, Chelsea, Grand Junction, Southwark, and Vauxhall, Kent, West Middlesex, Lambeth, and South Essex; who deliver about 108,000,000 gallons daily, 1867; about 116,250,000 gallons daily, 1877.
In 1880, the Nominal Capital of Eight Water Companies was £12,011,320.
THE VILLAGE OF BATTERSEA lies on the south side of the Thames opposite Chelsea, to which it has some historical relationship on account of its having been the seat of our Porcelain manufacture and of Saxon origin. It is situated about four miles South West of St. Paul's Cathedral. Battersea is a polling place for the Mid-divisions of the County in the Wandsworth Division of the West Brixton Hundred. Wandsworth Union and County Court District, Surrey Arch-Deaconry, and late Winchester, but now Rochester Diocese;[1] it is also within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, Metropolitan Board of Works, Metropolitan Police, and Wandsworth Police Court. The Parish is divided into four Wards. Penge[2] lies in Croydon district detached from the main body seven miles distant. The entire parish comprehends an area of 3183 acres.[3] Acres of the main body, 2177 of land 166 of water.—Wilson's Gazetteer of England and Wales. In 1792, there were two places of worship, viz., the Parish Church and the Old Baptist Meeting House in York Road; the number of houses within the parish at that period was 380. The following tabular statement will give but an inadequate conception of the growth of the parish since then:—