Joseph Quick (1809-1894)
Encyclopedia
Joseph Quick was an English civil engineer
who was closely involved in improvements to water supply in the great industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Both his father and his son (author of The Water Supply of the Metropolis. London and New York: 1880) were also waterworks engineers by the name Joseph Quick.
On March 28, 1844, as engineer to the Southwark Waterworks, Quick was called to give evidence before the Health and Towns Commissioners of the British Parliament. Again after the 1848/49 outbreak of cholera
in London, he was one of the advisors to the government to improve the London water supply infrastructure
. One proposal was to have all intake of water from the Thames moved from the tidal Thames
to up-river of Teddington Lock
. The expert evidence heard by parliament led to the Metropolis Water Act (1852), as a result of which Quick was entrusted with the building of the new Hampton
Waterworkshttp://www.hampton-online.co.uk/tside.html, which he designed in an Italianate
style.
Even before work at Hampton was complete, contamination of the water supply of the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company
, providing water to the borough of Southwark
, Battersea
, and other locations in the vicinity, led to the 1853 cholera outbreak studied by John Snow
. The company’s new facilities up-river at Hampton (shared with two other water companies) only came into operation in 1855.
By 1851 Quick was also consulting engineer to the Grand Junction Waterworks Company
. As such he bore responsibility for the water tower constructed in 1857-58 on Campden Hill
, of which there is a well-known contemporary print, although he himself was not the designer.
In 1857, together with Alexander Fraser, he was granted a patent for “improvements in apparatus for regulating the drawing off and supply of water and other fluids”.
Quick’s expertise as a waterworks engineer was such that together with his son he set up an international consultancy, and in the 1860s became involved in projects for the provision of modern water supplies in Amsterdam
, Berlin
, Saint Petersburg
, Antwerp and Beirut
. In St Petersburg the open filter method that proved highly successful in Amsterdam turned out to be entirely unsuitable to local climatic conditions.
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
who was closely involved in improvements to water supply in the great industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Both his father and his son (author of The Water Supply of the Metropolis. London and New York: 1880) were also waterworks engineers by the name Joseph Quick.
On March 28, 1844, as engineer to the Southwark Waterworks, Quick was called to give evidence before the Health and Towns Commissioners of the British Parliament. Again after the 1848/49 outbreak of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
in London, he was one of the advisors to the government to improve the London water supply infrastructure
London water supply infrastructure
London's water supply infrastructure has developed over the centuries in line with the expansion of London and now represents a sizeable infrastructure investment. For much of London's history, private companies supplied fresh water to various parts of London from the River Thames and the River Lea...
. One proposal was to have all intake of water from the Thames moved from the tidal Thames
Tideway
The Tideway is a name given to the part of the River Thames in England that is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock and is just under long...
to up-river of Teddington Lock
Teddington Lock
Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames in England at Ham in the western suburbs of London. The lock is on the southern Surrey side of the river....
. The expert evidence heard by parliament led to the Metropolis Water Act (1852), as a result of which Quick was entrusted with the building of the new Hampton
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
Waterworkshttp://www.hampton-online.co.uk/tside.html, which he designed in an Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
style.
Even before work at Hampton was complete, contamination of the water supply of the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company
Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company
The Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south London in England. The company was formed by the merger of the Southwark and Vauxhall Water Companies in 1845 and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Southwark Water...
, providing water to the borough of Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
, Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
, and other locations in the vicinity, led to the 1853 cholera outbreak studied by John Snow
John Snow (physician)
John Snow was an English physician and a leader in the adoption of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered to be one of the fathers of epidemiology, because of his work in tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho, England, in 1854.-Early life and education:Snow was born 15 March...
. The company’s new facilities up-river at Hampton (shared with two other water companies) only came into operation in 1855.
By 1851 Quick was also consulting engineer to the Grand Junction Waterworks Company
Grand Junction Waterworks Company
The Grand Junction Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of west London in England. The company was formed as an off-shoot of the Grand Junction Canal Company in 1811 and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Origins:The company was created...
. As such he bore responsibility for the water tower constructed in 1857-58 on Campden Hill
Campden Hill
Campden Hill is an area of high ground in west London between Notting Hill, Kensington and Holland Park.The area is characterised by large Victorian houses. It is also the site of reservoirs established in the 19th century by the Grand Junction Waterworks Company and the West Middlesex Waterworks...
, of which there is a well-known contemporary print, although he himself was not the designer.
In 1857, together with Alexander Fraser, he was granted a patent for “improvements in apparatus for regulating the drawing off and supply of water and other fluids”.
Quick’s expertise as a waterworks engineer was such that together with his son he set up an international consultancy, and in the 1860s became involved in projects for the provision of modern water supplies in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Antwerp and Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. In St Petersburg the open filter method that proved highly successful in Amsterdam turned out to be entirely unsuitable to local climatic conditions.