A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX 



1 9th century, a most important and lively 

 artery for the purpose either of business or 

 pleasure. The existing steps, wharves, and 

 water-lanes are as old as anything on the 

 river, and betoken a habit of passing to and 

 fro by water, even if our chronicles did not 

 testify to the prevalence of the waterman's 

 calling. The rise of steam-navigation did not 

 materially affect the waterman ; it is rather 

 the haste engendered by a busier age which 

 has rendered the pursuit of his calling less 

 lucrative. The first steamer that usurped the 

 pleasure side of his trade was the Endeavour, 

 which plied to Richmond in the year 1830. 

 By 1842 the passenger traffic by steamers had 

 grown enormously. In the summer of that 

 year there were no fewer than four steamboat 

 companies making a profitable traffic on the 

 Thames. 8 But, as in the case of the Padding- 

 ton barge above mentioned, these things lost 

 their popularity when speed, alike in pleasure 

 and business, was the urgent demand of a 

 rising generation. 



The government of the river was originally 

 in the hands of the Corporation of London, 

 whose jurisdiction was limited to the lower 

 part, beginning at Staines Bridge. This 

 lasted until the year 1857, when the Thames 

 Conservancy Board was created by Act of 

 Parliament. Later legislation gave the Thames 

 Conservancy power over the whole length of 

 the river, besides a distance of five miles up 

 all its tributaries. The duties of the board 

 include the maintenance of weirs, locks, &c., 

 prevention of pollution by sewage, regulations 

 as to fishing and pleasure-traffic, care of the 

 towing-path (which is continuous from Putney 

 upwards), dredging, and the general control 

 of the disposition of" the water. 



Middlesex is wholly within the Thames 

 basin ; so that every spring within the county 

 finds its way into one or other of the northern 

 tributaries of the river. Of these, the Colne 

 skirts the western boundary of the county, 

 receiving no less than five important affluents 

 at or near Oxbridge ; near Staines it pours a 

 good volume of water into the Thames, be- 

 sides forming a separate channel which finds 

 its way to Hampton Court. The Cran, 

 rising in the higher levels near Harrow, and 

 augmented by the Yeading brooks, passes 

 through Cranford to Twickenham and Isle- 

 worth. The Brent, the stream of which is 

 arrested by a large reservoir constructed by 

 the Canal Company, meets the Thames at 

 Brentford. Several small bourns flowed into 

 the Thames in ancient times, which have 

 long since been converted into artificial lakes 



' lllus. Land. News, 1842. 



or suffered to become mere drains. The Lea 

 is a contributory from Bedfordshire and Hert- 

 fordshire, fed in its course by numerous 

 springs, and by storm-waters from several 

 rivulets. It is fairly certain that the Lea once 

 flowed with a more powerful stream, and was 

 a good natural water-way along the entire 

 eastern boundary of Middlesex. 



There has been a good deal of vicissitude 

 in the process of bridging the Thames. Be- 

 fore the present fine bridge at Staines was 

 built there was a succession of failures. A 

 bridge existed here in very ancient days. 

 There is repeated mention of a bridge at 

 Staines in old records. The wooden one 

 existing towards the end of the 1 8th century 

 was at last condemned, and an Act of Parlia- 

 ment obtained for rebuilding. A stone bridge 

 was forthwith put in hand, and opened for 

 traffic in 1797. But this was found to be 

 insecure, and it had to be taken down. A 

 cast-iron bridge followed, and in its turn 

 failed. A third attempt was made, with a low 

 arch of cast iron supported on wooden piles ; 

 but this in turn was at length condemned. 

 George Rennie then undertook the construc- 

 tion, and the result was the handsome bridge 

 now standing. It was opened in 1832, with 

 much state, the ceremony being attended by 

 William IV and his queen. 



Chertsey Bridge is a substantial structure in 

 stone, opened in 1785. It is hardly equal to 

 modern needs, with the increased speed and 

 size of modern traffic. A bridge was raised at 

 Walton, an eccentric-looking structure in wood 

 and brick, which required alteration and repair 

 from time to time. The central arch fell in 

 1859, an d a new bridge was opened in 1863, a 

 rather ugly but more convenient structure. 

 Hampton Court Bridge was built in 1865, in 

 place of a wooden structure erected in 1750. 

 Kingston Bridge is one of the handsomest on 

 the river. It replaced a wooden one several 

 centuries old, and was opened in 1828. This 

 bridge now has a strain on its accommoda- 

 tion, and is fated to be altered if not entirely 

 superseded. On account of the busy popula- 

 tion in and around the town, Richmond 

 Bridge is likewise becoming inadequate to the 

 wants of the neighbourhood. It was built in the 

 year 1777. Haifa mile lower down is the foot- 

 bridge and lock, opened 19 May 1894. The 

 shallowness of the stream hereabouts prompted 

 a design which should hold up the tide at 

 half-ebb, and always provide sufficient water 

 for navigation. The plan was quite success- 

 ful, and added a new triumph to the arts of 

 modern bridge-building. 



The new bridge at Kew, inaugurated 

 by King Edward VII in 1905, is a great 



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