London Hydraulic Power Company
Encyclopedia
The London Hydraulic Power Company was set up by an Act of Parliament
in 1883 to install a hydraulic power network of high-pressure
cast iron
water mains under London
. It was the successor to the Steam Wharf and Warehouse Company, founded in 1871 by Edward B Ellington
. The network covered an area mostly north of the Thames from Hyde Park
in the west to Docklands in the east.
s, to power workshop machinery, lift
s, cranes
, theatre
machinery, and the backup mechanism of Tower Bridge
. It was also used to supply fire hydrant
s, mostly those inside buildings. The water, pumped straight from the Thames, was heated in winter to prevent freezing.
) by five hydraulic power stations, originally driven by coal
-fired steam engine
s. These were at:
Short-term storage was provided by hydraulic accumulator
s, which were large vertical pistons loaded with heavy weights.
became more popular. The company began to replace its steam engine
s with electric motor
s from 1923. At its peak, the network consisted of 180 miles (289.7 km) of pipes, and the total power output was about 7000 hp.
(a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless
) who bought the company and used the pipes as telecommunications ducts
. Wapping Hydraulic Power Station
, the last of the five to close, is now an arts centre and restaurant.
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...
in 1883 to install a hydraulic power network of high-pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
water mains under 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...
. It was the successor to the Steam Wharf and Warehouse Company, founded in 1871 by Edward B Ellington
Edward B Ellington
Edward Bayzard Ellington was a British hydraulic engineer. He was managing director of the Hydraulic Engineering Co of Chester and one of the founders, as well as Chief Engineer and Manager, of the London Hydraulic Power Company...
. The network covered an area mostly north of the Thames from Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
in the west to Docklands in the east.
Use
The system was used as a cleaner and more compact alternative to steam engineSteam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s, to power workshop machinery, lift
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s, cranes
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
machinery, and the backup mechanism of Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name...
. It was also used to supply fire hydrant
Fire hydrant
A fire hydrant , is an active fire protection measure, and a source of water provided in most urban, suburban and rural areas with municipal water service to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water...
s, mostly those inside buildings. The water, pumped straight from the Thames, was heated in winter to prevent freezing.
Pumping stations
The pressure was maintained at a nominal 800 psi (about 5.5 MPa, or 54 barBar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
) by five hydraulic power stations, originally driven by coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
-fired steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s. These were at:
- Falcon Wharf Pumping Station next to Blackfriars BridgeBlackfriars BridgeBlackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is near the Inns of Court and Temple Church, along with Blackfriars station...
(this was the first) - Renforth Pump House (Rotherhithe, Canada Water) (opened in 1904), using the defunct Tower SubwayTower SubwayThe Tower Subway is a tunnel, dug in 1869, beneath the River Thames in central London, close to the Tower of London. Its alignment runs between Tower Hill on the north side of the river and Vine Lane to the south...
to carry pipes under the Thames http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Renforth+Pump+House&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&ll=51.499117,-0.05148&spn=0.00087,0.002411&z=19&iwloc=A - Wapping Hydraulic Pumping StationWapping Hydraulic Power StationThe Wapping Hydraulic Power Station was originally run by the London Hydraulic Power Company in Wapping, London, England. Originally it operated using steam and later it was converted to use electricity. It was used to power machinery, including lifts , across London...
(est. 1890) (closed in 1977 and the last to be used) http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=wapping+hydraulic+pump&sll=51.499117,-0.05148&sspn=0.00087,0.002411&ie=UTF8&ll=51.507561,-0.051721&spn=0.000414,0.001206&t=h&z=20&iwloc=A - City Road Basin on the Regent's CanalRegent's CanalRegent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....
in IslingtonIslingtonIslington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street... - Pimlico along Grosvenor Road (79 Grosvenor Rd, Westminster, London SW1V 3, UK).
Short-term storage was provided by hydraulic accumulator
Hydraulic accumulator
A 'hydraulic accumulator' is an energy storage device. It is a pressure storage reservoir in which a non-compressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure by an external source. That external source can be a spring, a raised weight, or a compressed gas...
s, which were large vertical pistons loaded with heavy weights.
Decline
From about 1904, business began to decline as electric powerElectric power
Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
became more popular. The company began to replace its steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s with electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
s from 1923. At its peak, the network consisted of 180 miles (289.7 km) of pipes, and the total power output was about 7000 hp.
Modern times
The system closed in 1977. The company, as a UK statutory authority, had the legal right to dig up the public highways to install and maintain its pipe network. This made it attractive to Mercury CommunicationsMercury Communications
Mercury Communications was a national telephone company in the United Kingdom. The company was formed in 1981 as a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless to challenge the monopoly of British Telecom which was privatised in 1984...
(a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
) who bought the company and used the pipes as telecommunications ducts
Electrical conduit
An electrical conduit is an electrical piping system used for protection and routing of electrical wiring. Electrical conduit may be made of metal, plastic, fiber, or fired clay. Flexible conduit is available for special purposes....
. Wapping Hydraulic Power Station
Wapping Hydraulic Power Station
The Wapping Hydraulic Power Station was originally run by the London Hydraulic Power Company in Wapping, London, England. Originally it operated using steam and later it was converted to use electricity. It was used to power machinery, including lifts , across London...
, the last of the five to close, is now an arts centre and restaurant.
External links
- Hydraulic power in London from Subterranea Britannica including photographs.
- London Hydraulic Power A look at the system in 1936
- Hydraulic Power Company from the Vauxhall Society website (Copy (January 2008) at the Internet Archive)