East London Waterworks Company

According to The London Encyclopaedia (ed Weinreb and Hibbert, 1992), the East London Waterworks Company was founded in 1807, with works at Old Ford, Bow, supplied by the River Lea [or Lee]. The company took over the Shadwell Waterworks Company, the West Ham Waterworks and the Hackney Waterworks. In 1861 new reservoirs were constructed at Walthamstow, and in 1866 the Old Ford site was forced to close after an outbreak of cholera. The company also had a reservoir at Finsbury Park, fed from the Thames at Sunbury Lock via 19 miles of pipes. In 1884 the water pipes were invaded by eels. In 1902 the company was taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board.