The Lambeth Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water

Water supply

Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...

 to parts of south

South London

South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...

 London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The company was established in 1785 with works in north Lambeth

Lambeth

Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...

 and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.

Origins

The Lambeth Waterworks Company was founded in 1785 to supply water to south and west London. It was established on the south bank of the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 close to the present site of Hungerford Bridge

Hungerford Bridge

The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. It is a steel truss railway bridge—sometimes known as the Charing Cross Bridge—flanked by two more recent, cable-stayed, pedestrian bridges that share the railway bridge's...

 where the Royal Festival Hall

Royal Festival Hall

The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...

 now stands. The first water intake of the company was on the south side of the river and supplied directly from the river. After complaints that the water was foul, the intake was moved to the middle of the river. The company expanded to supply Kennington

Kennington

Kennington is a district of South London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark....

 in 1802 and about this time replaced its wooden pipes with iron ones.

Infrastructure

In 1832 the company built a reservoir at Streatham Hill, and in 1834 obtained an Act of Parliament

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 to extend its area of supply. In the same year the company purchased 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of land in Brixton

Brixton

Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....

 and built a reservoir and works on Brixton Hill adjacent to Brixton Prison. In the 1850s the quality of drinking water became a matter of public concern. 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...

 eaxamined the state of waters in 1849. Parliament passed the Metropolis Water Act 1852 in order to "make provision for securing the supply to the Metropolis of pure and wholesome water". Under the Act, it became unlawful for any water company to extract water for domestic use from the tidal reaches of the Thames after 31 August 1855, and from 31 December 1855 all such water was required to be "effectually filtered". The directors had already decided in 1847 to move the intake for their reservoirs to Seething Wells

Seething Wells

Seething Wells is a locality of Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. It is the site of a former water treatment works on the south bank of the River Thames. Part of it was redeveloped in the early 21st century. The filter beds remain the property of Thames Water, via their...

, between Surbiton

Surbiton

Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...

 and Thames Ditton

Thames Ditton

Thames Ditton is a village in Surrey, England, bordering Greater London. It is situated 12.2 miles south-west of Charing Cross between the towns of Kingston upon Thames, Surbiton, Esher and East Molesey...

. The facilities were completed in 1852 and the Lambeth was joined there by the Chelsea Waterworks Company

Chelsea Waterworks Company

The Chelsea Waterworks Company was a London waterworks company founded in 1723 which supplied water to many central London locations throughout the 18th and 19th centuries until its functions were taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1902....

. However the inlets here sucked up too much mud with the water because of turbulence caused by the River Mole, River Ember

River Ember

The River Ember is a river in the county of Surrey, England. It is a distributary of the River Mole which splits in two at the Island Barn Reservoir to the South of East and West Molesey. The larger portion becomes the River Ember and flows in an easterly and then northerly direction around the...

 and The Rythe

The Rythe

The Rythe is a river in the county of Surrey, England. It is a tributary of the River Thames which it joins at Thames Ditton on the reach above Teddington Lock....

. The Lambeth Waterworks Company moved upstream to Molesey, where they built the Molesey Reservoirs

Molesey Reservoirs

The Molesey Reservoirs were a group of reservoirs in England near Molesey, Surrey, in the western suburbs of London. There was an adjacent water treatment works....

in 1872 and the Chelsea Waterworks Company followed them there three years later.