Brompton Consumption Hospital (1841).
Cancer Hospital; Brompton (1851).
City of London Hospital for diseases of the chest; Bethnal Green
(1848).
East London Hospital for Children and Dispensary for Women; Shadwell
(1868).
Hospital for Sick Children; Bloomsbury (1852).
London Fever Hospital; Islington (1802).
National Hospital for Paralysed and Epileptics; Bloomsbury (1859).
Royal Hospital for Incurables; Putney (1854).
Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital; City Road (1804; on present site,
1899).
(See also separate articles on boroughs.)
_Water Supply._--In the 12th century London was supplied with water
from local streams and wells, of which Holy Well, Clerk's Well
(Clerkenwell) and St Clement's Well, near St Clement's Inn, were
examples. In 1236 the magistrates purchased the liberty to convey the
waters of the Tyburn from Paddington to the City by leaden pipes, and
a great conduit was erected in West Cheap in 1285. Other conduits were
subsequently built (cf. Conduit Street off Bond Street, Lamb's Conduit
Street, Bloomsbury); and water was also supplied by the company of
water-bearers in leathern panniers borne by horses. In 1582 Peter
Moris, a Dutchman, erected a "forcier" on an arch of London Bridge,
which he rented for 10s. per annum for 500 years. His works succeeded
and increased, and continued in his family till 1701, when a company
took over the lease. Other forciers had been set up, and in 1609, on
an act of 1605, Sir Hugh Myddelton undertook the task of supplying
reservoirs at Clerkenwell through the New river from springs near
Ware, Hertfordshire; and these were opened in 1613. In 1630 a scheme
to bring water from Hoddesdon on the Lea was promoted by aid of a
lottery licensed by Charles I. The Chelsea Water Company opened its
supply from the Thames in 1721; the Lambeth waterworks were erected in
1783; the Vauxhall Company was established in 1805, the West
Middlesex, near Hammersmith, and the East London on the river Lea in
1806, the Kent on the Ravensbourne (Deptford) in 1810, the Grand
Junction in 1811, and the Southwark (which amalgamated with the
Vauxhall) in 1822.
Metropolitan Water Board.
For many years proposals to amalgamate the working of the companies
and displace them by a central public authority were put forward from
time to time. The difficulty of administration lay in the fact that of
the area of 620 sq. m. constituting what is known as "Water London"
(see map in _London Statistics_, vol. xix., issued by the L.C.C.,
1909) the London County Council has authority over little more than
one-third, and therefore when the Council proposed to acquire the
eight undertakings concerned its scheme was opposed not only by the
companies but by the county councils and local authorities outside the
County of London. The Council had a scheme of bringing water to London
from Wales, in view of increasing demands on a stationary supply. This
involved impounding the headwaters of the Wye, the Towey and the Usk,
and the total cost was estimated to exceed fifteen millions sterling.
The capacity of existing sources, however, was deemed sufficient by a
Royal Commission under Lord Balfour of Burleigh in 1893, and this
opinion was endorsed by a further Commission under Lord Llandaff. The
construction of large storage reservoirs was recommended, and this
work was put in hand jointly by the New River, West Middlesex and
Grand Junction companies at Staines on the Thames. As regards
administration, Lord Llandaff's Commission recommended the creation of
a Water Trust, and in 1902 the Metropolis Water Act constituted the
Metropolitan Water Board to purchase and carry on the undertakings of
the eight companies, and of certain local authorities. It consists of
66 members, appointed by the London County Council (14), the City of
London and the City of Westminster (2 each), the other Metropolitan
boroughs (1 each), the county councils of Middlesex, Hertfordshire,
Essex, Kent and Surrey (l each), borough of West Ham (2), various
groups of other boroughs and urban districts, and the Thames and the
Lea Conservancies. The first election of the Board took place in 1903.
The 24th of June, 1904, was the date fixed on which control passed to
the Board, and in the meantime a Court of Arbitration adjudicated the
claims of the companies for compensation for the acquisition of their
properties.
"Water London" is an irregular area extending from Ware in
Hertfordshire to Sevenoaks in Kent, and westward as far as Ealing and
Sunbury.
A constant supply is maintained generally throughout "Water London,"
although a suspension between certain hours has been occasionally
necessitated, as in 1895 and 1898, when, during summer droughts, the
East London supply was so affected. During these periods other
companies had a surplus of water, and in 1899 an act was passed
providing for the interconnexion of systems. The Thames and Lea are
the principal sources of supply, but the Kent and (partially) the New
River Company draw supplies from springs. The systems of filtration
employed by the different companies varied in efficacy, but both the
Royal Commissions decided that water as supplied to the consumer was
generally of a very high standard of purity. The expenditure of the
Water Board for 1907-1908 amounted to £2,846,265. Debt charges
absorbed £1,512,718 of this amount.
Public baths and washhouses are provided by local authorities under
various acts between 1846 and 1896, which have been adopted by all the
borough councils.
_Lighting._--From 1416 citizens were obliged to hang out candles
between certain hours on dark nights to illuminate the streets. An act
of parliament enforced this in 1661; in 1684 Edward Heming, the
inventor of oil lamps, obtained licence to supply public lights; and
in 1736 the corporation took the matter in hand, levying a rate.
Gas-lighting was introduced on one side of Pall Mall in 1807, and in
1810 the Gas Light & Coke Company received a charter, and developed
gas-lighting in Westminster. The City of London Gas Company followed
in 1817, and seven other companies soon after. Wasteful competition
ensued until in 1857 an agreement was made between the companies to
restrict their services to separate localities, and the Gas Light &
Coke Company, by amalgamating other companies, then gradually acquired
all the gas-lighting north of the Thames, while a considerable area in
the south was provided for by another great gas company, the South
Metropolitan. Various acts from 1860 onwards have laid down laws as to
the quality and cost of gas. Gas must be supplied at 16-candle
illuminating power, and is officially tested by the chemists'
department of the London County Council. The amalgamations mentioned
were effected subsequently to 1860, and there are now three principal
companies within the county, the Gas Light & Coke, South Metropolitan
and Commercial, though certain other companies supply some of the
outlying districts. As regards street lighting, the extended use of
burners with incandescent mantles has been of good effect. The
Metropolitan Board of Works, and the commissioners of sewers in the
City, began experiments with electric light. At the close of the 19th
and the beginning of the 20th century a large number of electric light
companies came into existence, and some of the metropolitan borough
councils, and local authorities within Greater London, also undertook
the supply. An extensive use of the light resulted in the principal
streets and in shops, offices and private houses.
_Fire._--In 1832 the fire insurance companies united to maintain a
small fire brigade, and continued to do so until 1866. The brigade was
confined to the central part of the metropolis; for the rest, the
parochial authorities had charge of protection from fire. The central
brigade came under the control of the Metropolitan Board of Works; and
the County Council now manages the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, under a
chief officer and a staff numbering about 1300. The cost of
maintenance exceeds £200,000 annually; contributions towards this are
made by the Treasury and the fire insurance companies. The Council
controls the provision of fire escapes in factories employing over 40
persons, under an act of 1901; it also compels the maintenance of
proper precautions against fire in theatres and places of
entertainments. A Salvage Corps is independently maintained by the
Insurance Companies.
_Cemeteries._--The administrative authorities of cemeteries for the
county are the borough councils and the City Corporation and private
companies. The large cemetery at Brompton is the property of the
government. Kensal Green cemetery, the burial-place of many famous
persons, is of great extent, but several large cemeteries outside the
metropolis have come into use. Such are that of the London Necropolis
Company at Brookwood near Woking, Surrey, and that of the parishes of
St Mary Abbots, Kensington, and St George, Hanover Square, at Hanwell,
Middlesex. Crematoria are provided at certain of the companies'
cemeteries, and the Cremation Act 1902 enabled borough councils to
provide crematoria.