Metropolis Water Act 1852 The
Metropolis Water Act 1852 (
15 & 16 Vict. c. 84) first introduced regulation of the supply of water to
London ("the Metropolis"), including minimum standards of water quality, transport and treatment, official oversight and approval of all new water sources, and the introduction of a complaints process. Passage of the act followed an outbreak of
cholera in London in 1849, and official concern regarding the level of effluent discharged into the
River Thames, the main source of domestic water for London's residents. The key provision of the Act was to make it unlawful to take domestic water from the tidal Thames and its tributaries below
Teddington Lock. London's water companies moved their operations to sites above the lock during the late 1850s and early 1860s.
Construction (1853–55) Construction of waterworks on the north bank of the River Thames near Hampton took place from 1853–55 as a joint venture of the
Grand Junction Waterworks Company, the
Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company, and the
West Middlesex Waterworks Company. The original works were designed by
Joseph Quick and constructed by
John Aird, comprising sand filter beds to remove suspended solids from the river water, and three pump houses, one for each water company. The massive pump houses were constructed in
Gault brick to near-identical
Italianate design, with large arched windows and decorative balustrades.
Expansion (1867–1900) In 1867–70,
Joseph Quick designed and constructed new works for the Southwark and Vauxhall company on the east side of Lower Sunbury Road. The building comprised two engine houses in the Italianate style linked by a blank-arcaded boiler house, and became known as the
Morelands building after the two Moreland and Sons 80-inch
beam engines housed in the western engine house. The building was further expanded by
J.W. Restler in 1885–86. The original Grand Junction pump house, known as the
Karsdale building, was extended to install a beam engine in 1881–82 by Andrew Frazer. The original Southwark and Vauxhall pump house, which became known as the
Ruston building, The
Riverdale building, constructed for the Southwark and Vauxhall company in 1898–1900 to the east of the Morelands building, comprises a quasi-
Elizabethan engine house holding three triple expansion engines fronting Upper Sunbury Road, with a long boiler house with
aisles and
clerestory set behind to the west. In the parapet of the engine house balcony the barge of the Southwark and Vauxhall company is set in stone.
Hampton Water Treatment Works and surrounding area 1950 Once complete the Waterworks were among the largest in the world at the time, supplying over 400 megalitres a day and requiring over 100 tons of coal for the pumphouses. Coal was supplied on barges unloaded at Hampton wharf and moved by cart to the Waterworks. Difficulties with this arrangement led to the construction of the Metropolitan Water Board Light Railway in 1915. The Railway connected the wharf to the Waterworks and Kempton Park pumping station. The Railway also continued to a standard gauge railway siding at Sunbury station, which allowed for coal to be delivered via the
London and South Western Shepperton branch line when the river was in flood or operators were on strike. == Heritage listing ==