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154
The companies supplying north of the Thames, which came into
existence after the New River Company, were as follows : —
The Chelsea Company, 1722. Supply taken from the Thames.
The Grand Junction Company, 1798. The supply was originally
taken from the Grand Junction Canal, which was fed from the Colne
and Brent Rivers, and subsequently from the Thames.
The West Middlesex Company, 1806. Supply taken from the
Thames.
The East London Company, 1808. This Company purchased the
Shadwell Company which was established in 1679 and the West Ham
Water Works, also a business started in 1745.
Sayes' Court Privileges.
Companies supplying south of the Thames included.
The Lambeth Company, 1785.-—Supply from the Thames, and
The Kent Company, 1809.—The Kent Waterworks Company
possessed the rights of an old established institution which dates back
to the reign of William III. The Company also absorbed quite a
number of small undertakings. In 1701, letters patent were granted
to the inhabitants of Sayes Court and East Greenwich, giving them
power to lay pipes for conveying water for a period of 500 years, all
other persons being prohibited from doing so on pain of penalties.
The result of this privilege was that waterworks were made at
Ravensbourne which were worked until 1808. In 1809 an Act of
Parliament was passed establishing the Kent Waterworks Company
and investing them with the powers of the letters patent on purchase of
the undertaking. In addition, the Company in 1811 took over the
supply to Woolwich from the Town Commissions. About 1850 the
Company took over the area supplied by a company called the
Plumstead, Woolwich and Charlton Consumers Pure Water Company,
which had become bankrupt; in 1860, the North Kent Company which
supplied Chislehurst, Eltham, Erith, Dartford, Crayford and Bexley ;
in 1867, the Local Board of Dartford sold their works to the Company;
in 1877 the Bromley Rural Authority and Dartford Rural
Authority requested the Company to supply their area, and an Act of
Parliament was obtained in 1888 giving the Company powers to supply