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in these districts. The Company's area of supply was thus extended
to cover an area of about 178 square miles, of which about 30 are
within the County of London.
The original works were situated on the bank of the Ravensbourne
and consisted of a pump worked by a water wheel. In 1857 the water
of the Ravensbourne was insufficient, and a deep well was sunk in the
chalk. New wells have been sunk as occasion required. Later the
whole of the water supplied by the Kent Company was obtained from
deep wells thus obviating the necessity of filtration. The area supplied
by this Company extended from Deptford to Swanscombe, Chislehurst,
Westerham, Knockholt, Eynsford and Southfleet.
The Southwark and Vauxhall Company was the amalgamation of
two Companies called the Southwark and the Vauxhall Company. The
Southwark Company had taken over part of the London Bridge
Company's area supplied from the Thames by a wheel in one of the
arches of London Bridge, placed there in 1767 for the supply of
Southwark. The area of supply was Bermondsey, Rotherhithe,
Battersea, Barnes, Kew, Roehampton, Wandsworth, Clapham,
and Camberwell. The supply was taken from the Thames. In 1852
an important Act of Parliament was passed which required all
Companies supplying the Metropolis to filter the water taken from any
source other than wells, and to provide covered reservoirs for all
filtered water. Under the same Act Companies taking water from the
Thames were not allowed to take a supply from the river lower than
Teddington Lock.
Thames Drinking Water.
At the beginning of last century, water was drawn from the Thames
for domestic use as low down as London Bridge and was delivered to
consumers without filtration of any kind. The Thames at that time
was the common sewer of London. There were no less than 145
sewers discharging their contents into the river above the intake for
the supply for domestic purposes to a considerable part of the City.
The supply to the Metropolis was the subject of numerous inquiries
in Parliament during the latter half of last century. Several bills
were brought before the House for the purchase or control
of the water companies, but it was not until 1902 that the
Metropolis Water Act was passed which constituted the present
Metropolitan Water Board. The Board as constituted under that Act