10 



TJII'J ( 1\JL ICiNCaNKLK AM) AllC'HITi:crS JOURNAL. 



[January, 



ON THE SUPPLY OF WATKU TO THE METROPOLIS. 



Obstrvatiuns on llw jktsl and prtnuit snpjjli/ of Wa/ir to lltv Mcliv- 

 fulis. liii Tiio.MAS Wkk^tkkd, Ciril Engima: Jiail hi fore Ik 

 Sodclij vj'./Jrh, jMaij 21, Is^.'j. 



[Tliis ]);i|)rr wliicli wc now present tmr ri'uders was oriifin.illy piili- 

 lisjicil in till' TiMns;ic(i(ins of tlic Sncicly of Ails: ;i5 we coiisiilcr il> 

 merits enlille i( Id a nunc exloiuled lirciilalicjn, «e lli>iLii;lil tli;il we 

 conlil nol ilu ;i lu'tler service lu ils nnlliur ;iiul llie jiiiblir, ilinii (o l;ike 

 tills ii|i|iorliniily of iMllint; atlcnlioii Id il.] 



I TAKK III!' liberty dI' [irefaeiiir; tlie Dl)ser\.UiDns I ;ini iil)DUl Id nuiKc- 

 n|)Dn I he piist mv\ present su|i|ily of water to tlie Metropolis, liy staling 

 thai it was at Ihe lepealeil recpiest of my vahieil frienil Mr. Aikin that 

 1 was inihieed to think of attcmj)tinc; to amuse the Soeiety for an 

 honr; anil, slinnlil I lie nnsuceessful in the endeavour, I trnst credit 

 w ill lie given nu' for trying, at least, to make a return, however trilling, 

 for Ihe pleasure and instruction 1 have derived from this yociely 

 during the last twelve years. 



It will be my object to show Ihe great advantages the inhabitants of 

 tills Metropolis derive from the abundant sujiply of good water which 

 fliey now have, in comparison with the scanty supply in ancient 

 times. 



Supply ijnviom lo a.D- 1230, by Rumiiiig Brooks. 



The inhabitants of London ami ils suburbs pre\ iously to the year 

 12U<t, in the reign of Henry 111., were snpplieit with water not only by 

 the Thames, but also by Ihe following sireams, namely, the River of 

 Wells, Old-bourne or Hill-bmnnc, Wall-brook, and Lang-bouruc. 



The River of Wells, so called from its being forined by Ihe united 

 streams from several wells in Ihe neighbourhood of the Charter House 

 and .Sniilhtield, Mowed lo Holborn Bridge. The Old-bourne, <n- Hill- 

 bourne, so calleil fnuu ils running down a lull ,rDse near Holboru Bars, 

 and nniuiug west, joined the River of Wells at Holborn Bridgi'; from 

 tlience tlio united streams Howed between the Fleet and Bridewell 

 into Ihe Thames near lilackfriars Bridge. In 1307, at a Parliament 

 held at Carlisle the 3.'ith of Edward L, Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, 

 complained that whereas I'orruerly the watercourse under the Fleet and 

 Holborn Bridges was snliicicully deep and wide lo allow tenor twelve 

 ships at once, loaded with merchandize, lo come up lo Holboni Bridge, 

 but that in 1 1'.li', in the lirst year of his reign. King Joliu had granted 

 io the Knights Teiuiilars ground to erect a mill upon, at Castle Bay- 

 nard, and the whole of Ihe water in this w alercourse (vvhieli was aftcn'- 

 waids called Turn Mill Brook) to work if; owing to which diversion 

 chiefly, and also to Ihe lillh of the Tanners choking it np, and divers 

 other impedimeuts, vessels could not now enter as they were winit ; 

 he therefore prayed that the mayor and sherifVs of London might be 

 directed to view the watercourse to substantiate his statenieiits. It 

 was in consecpiencc cleansed, but was never again of the depth or 

 breadth that it had formerly been. In 1502, the 17th of Heury VII., 

 the whole course of Fleet Dyke, then so called, was ert'ectuallv cleansed 

 so as to allow boats with lish and fuel lo navigate as far as Holborn 

 Bridge. 



In I5y0, in the 3!st of Elizabeth's reign, the Common Council of 

 the city granted a tifteenlh for the cleansing of this brook, or dyke, 

 and for this |iur|iose Ihe springs on Hanipslead Heath were c<illei'te(i 

 into one head and c(jnvey(»l by means of a channel to Fleet Ditch, to 

 scour it out ; but after spending a large sum of iiumey, the work proved 

 a failure, and the banks falling in, the Ditch was ( hoked up nujre than 

 ever. 



In 1GG8, in Charles the Second's reign, after Ihe fire of London, it 

 was again cleansed, and a handsome canal was made with brick walls 

 and wharfs on each side as far as Holborn Bridge, 2100 feet long, 40 

 feet wide, and 5 feet deep at a middling tide ; but the expense of 

 making this canal, wharfs, ice., (aniDunling to iR'arly i'2><,000,) and 

 the annual cost of keeping it free from mud was so great, that in 1733 

 the cilizens obtained ]iowers from Parliament lo fill up the ditch 

 between Fleet Street and Holborn, and to build a market thereon, the 

 act providing that two spacious arches, nf 10 feet high and li feet 

 wide, should be made and mainlaiued as common sewers, to carry oil' 

 the waters of the rivulets and sewers thai used to fall into the ditch ; 

 and in I7li0, in George Ihe Third's reign, when Blackl'riais Bridge 

 was built, the reinainiug part of Ihe Fleet Ditch, from Fleet Street "to 

 the Thames, was filled in, and the sewer was extended. 



It would appear that Fleet Ditc h was the channel into which tin- 

 River of Wells, from the east, and the Old (or Hill) Bourne from the 

 west, flowed, and that the tide flowing up to Holborn Bridgi- made il 

 navigable so far. That at one liiae it was c died Ihe River of Wells 

 because that was the largest rivulet that ran into il ; aflerwards Turn 

 Mill Brook, when if was rendered unnavigable by the erection of the 

 Knights Teinjilars' Mill, and the consonnent diversion of its waters f 



afterwards, when (he mills were removed, and it wa.s cleansed again 

 and rendered navigable, Fleet Dyke, so called because il was a water- 

 course allowing many vessels or -.i Jlitl to pass up; — and afterwards 

 Fleet Ditch, when Ihe imsnceessful atleinpl to scour it, by means of a 

 channel (which channel is now also called Fleet Ditch,) from the 

 Hanijistead springs, had been made. The Old (or Hill) Bourne is now 

 co\ ered over. 



Wall-bidok derived ils name from the eircinnsfanee of its being the 

 only running brook that passed through (lie City walls. 



It entered (be Cilv near to the east end of lielli'em Hospital, he- 

 tweeu Bishojisgale and Moorgate, [lassed on to Lothbiirv, under St. 

 Mildred's cluinh, Bucklersburv, Wallbrook Street, and Dowgate Hill 

 into Ihe Thames. It is said to have been in ancient times navigable 

 as far as Bnckleisbury. It is now arched over, and liouses are built 

 over it in many (ilaces. 



Laiigliouriie-water was a long and gre, it stream of v\ater breaking 

 out of the ground at the east end of Fenchundi Street, and running 

 directly west, nearly to the end of Lombard Street, turned lo Ihe south 

 and divided into seTeral rivulets, some falling into the Wall-broidc, 

 and others running in separate streams to the Thames at Dowgate; 

 (he division, or s/mnng, of the stream gave the name to Sharebourne 

 (or Sherbourue) Lane. 



A watercourse intersected th« Strand at Salisbury Street, and 

 another near Somerset House. 



Supply prtrioiis to a.D. 123(5 by Springs. 



Besides these running streams there were a great many wells and 

 pools, namely, Holywell, in Shoreditch; Clement's Well, in St. Cle- 

 ment's Inn ill the Strand ; Clerks' Well, near Clerkenwell Cluireli, so 

 called from the parish clerks of Ihe City of London, who used formerly 

 to meet there for Ihe jmrpose of representing certain parts of the 

 Serijiturcs in a theatrical manner. "These wells," says Fitz Stephen, 

 who was ill the service of the famous Thomas a Becket, and wrote a 

 life of that celebrated |)relate, "maybe esteemed the jiriucipal, as 

 being much the best freipiented, both by scholars from the schocils, 

 and the youth of the City, when in a summer's evening they were dis- 

 posed to take an airing." Xear lo Clerks' Well was Skinners' Well, 

 where plays were in ancient times performed. 



More eastw aril, tow ards the Charter House, were Fagges-well, Tods- 

 w ell, f.oders-well and Red-well, which, with another in Smithfield, 

 called Ihe Horse Pool, united to form the River of Well.,. 



"Damc-Annis-the-Clear" Well, in Hoxton; and, somewhat west of 

 this. Perilous Pool, now called Peerless Pool. 



Without Cripplegatc there was a large pool supplied by Crowder's 

 Well, on the north-west side of St. Giles's cluirchyard. 



There was a fountain in New Palace Yard, Wesfininsler. 



There were two wells in .Shadwell, one of which, a fine and clear 

 spring near lo St. Paul's clinich, gave this suburb ils name. 



Besides those herein eiminerated there were iiiany smaller ones, the 

 siluation of which may still be discovered by the names of the streets 

 and alleys or places in their neighbourhood, such as Monks' Well, 

 Bride W>ll, formerly called Bridget's Well, &c. 



London siijipliid by Conduits stibseqiiinlly to 1230. 



Stow says, "The said River of Wells, the rinming water of Wall- 

 lirook, the bournes afore named, and others the fresh wafers that v\pre 

 in and about this City, being in jirocess of time, by eucroaclnuent for 

 buildings and otherwise, utterly decayed, and (he numlier of citizens 

 inightily increased, they were forced to seek sweet waters abroad, 

 whereof some" i^prings, "at the request of King Henry the Third in 

 Ihe 2 1st year of his reign, were, for the iirofit of the City and good of 

 the whole Realme thither reiiairing, granted to the citizens and their 

 successors by one Gilbert de Sanford, with liberty to convey water 

 from the towne of Teiborne by ]ii))es of lead into their City." The 

 Tybourne rivulet ran though Tothill Fields to Scholars' Pond, and 

 thence info Ihe Thames; it is now a common sewer. The grant w'as 

 made in 1230; the work was commenced in 12s5: the waters from 

 Tybourne were conveyed by a six-inch leaden pipe to dialing Cross, 

 and from thence to several conduits in the City, the first and greatest 

 of wliiih was erected at the Cross in Clieapside, at the end of Wood 

 Street, in 12^.5, the distance being about three miles and a half, and 

 for the yirsl time water was conveyed by pipes into the City. 



lu 1101 the prison-house called the " Tun onCornhill, was converted 

 into a cistern for the Tybourne water, and was afterwards called the 

 Conduit oil Cornliill. 



hi 1123 water was brought from Tybourne to Billingsgate, Paul's 

 Wharf, and to a cistern in the wall of St. Giles's church, Cripnlegate. 



In 1 130 w ater was brought to the Standard in Clieapside, near 

 Honey Lane, 



In 1132 water was conveyed to the gaols of Newgate and Ludgate. 



