The Chelsea Waterworks Company was a London

waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

company founded in 1723 which supplied water to many

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

locations throughout the 18th and 19th centuries until its functions were taken over by the

Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...

in 1904.

The company was established "for the better supplying the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and Liberties of

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and parts adjacent with water"''The London Encyclopaedia'', Ben Weinreb & Christopher Hibbert, Macmillan, 1995, and received a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

on 8 March 1723. The company created extensive ponds in the area bordering Chelsea and

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

using water from the tidal Thames. These were to form the basis of the

Grosvenor Canal Grosvenor Canal was a canal in the Pimlico area of London, opened in 1824. It was progressively shortened, as first the railways to Victoria Station and then the Ebury Bridge housing estate were built over it. It remained in use until 1995, en ...

which was opened to traffic in 1825. By the 19th century there were complaints about the quality of the water they were drawing from the River Thames, and in 1829, under engineer James Simpson the company became the first in the country to install a slow sand filtration system to purify the water.History of the Chelsea Waterworks
/ref> The

Metropolis Water Act 1852 The Metropolis Water Act 1852This short title was conferred on this act bsection 28of this act. ( 15 & 16 Vict. c. 84) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which first introduced regulation of the supply of water to London ("the M ...

( 15 & 16 Vict. c. 84) prohibited the extraction of water for household purposes from the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

below

Teddington Lock Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames between Ham and Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Historically in Middlesex, it was first built in 1810. The limit of legal powe ...

. The company moved to Seething Wells above the lock at

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...

in 1856 becoming the last water company to move their inlets above the polluted tidal water zone. The site was adjacent to the

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 1904. ...

, who had already moved there and who also employed Simpson. The vacated site at Pimlico was used by the railway companies to build lines into west London and

London Victoria Station Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street, the mai ...

was built on the site of much of the Grosvenor Canal basin. The inlets at Seething Wells sucked up too much mud with the water because of turbulence caused by the

River Mole 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 at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey district ...

, River Ember and The Rythe. The Chelsea Waterworks Company attempted to build works opposite

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

but followed the Lambeth Waterworks Company to a new installation at

Molesey Molesey is a suburban district comprising two large villages, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England. Molesey is within the Greater London Built-up Area, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames ...

in 1875 where the

Molesey Reservoirs The Molesey Reservoirs were a group of reservoirs in England near Molesey, Surrey, in the western suburbs of London. There was an adjacent water treatment works. The reservoirs were adjacent to the River Thames on the south side on the reach abo ...

were built.A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of the Borough of Elmbridge
/ref> Both companies were incorporated into the

in 1902.

References

Companies established in 1723 London water infrastructure History of the City of Westminster History of the City of London Former water company predecessors of Thames Water 1723 establishments in England 1902 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1902 British companies established in 1723 {{UK-company-stub