Seething Wells is a locality of 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...

 in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London, England. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the three Royal Boroughs in England, the others are Kensington and Chelsea, also in London,...

. It is the site of a former water treatment works 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,...

. Part of it was redeveloped in the early 21st century. The filter beds remain the property of Thames Water, via their property agency Kennett Homes. The beds' riverside location has attracted the attention of developers and they have been the object of development applications, so far not granted. The beds are a designated wildlife area within Greater London. A substantial labyrinth of underground tunnels and structures, some of which are statutorily listed, forms an important haven for eight species of bat including some of Britains' rarer varieties subject to special protection. The beds and converted waterworks are part of one of the Royal Borough of Kingston's Conservation Areas.

The apt name of Seething Wells is a gradual phonetic corruption of the original 'Siden Wells' which appears on maps from the 18th century. It was the site of springs - reportedly warm springs - which were believed to have healing ophthalmic properties.

The Metropolis Water Act of 1852 prohibited the extraction of water for household purposes 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...

 below Teddington Weir. The Lambeth Waterworks Company

Lambeth Waterworks Company

The Lambeth Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south London in England. The company was established in 1785 with works in north Lambeth and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Origins:...

 anticipated this by building their works at Seething Wells which were completed and opened in 1852, the same year as the Act was passed. Another company - 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....

 - joined the Lambeth Waterworks Company here. The two establishments existed side by side until they were both incorporated into the Metropolitan Water Board

Metropolitan Water Board

The Metropolitan Water Board was founded in 1903 to bring the nine private water companies supplying water to London under a single public body. The members of the board were nominated by the various local authorities within its area of supply. A Royal Commission had reported in 1899 on the need...

 in 1903. However the inlets here sucked up too much mud with the water because of turbulence caused by the River Mole

River Mole, Surrey

The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows north west through Surrey for to the Thames near Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey district of Mole Valley...

, 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 built a new installation at Molesey, and the Chelsea Waterworks Company followed them there three years later, after attempting to build works opposite Hampton Court.

Part of the Seething Wells site is now used as halls of residence by Kingston University

Kingston University

Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....

.