Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The General Hydraulic Power Company Limited, was formed in 1882, the date of incorporation being 29 June. It incorporated the Wharves and Warehouses Steam Power and Hydraulic Pressure Company, formed in 1872, which became the London Hydraulic Power Company in January 1884 (as authorised by the London Hydraulic Power Company Acts 1871 and 1884) and the Liverpool Hydraulic Power Company (authorised by the Liverpool Hydraulic Power Company Acts, 1884 and 1887). Registered Office in 1976: Renforth Street, Rotherhithe, London, SE16.
According to website "Subterranea Britannica" (accessed Oct 2009): The Wharves and Warehouses Steam Power and Hydraulic Pressure Company was formed in 1871 to operate in London's Docklands. In 1884 it became the London Hydraulic Power Company, providing hydraulic power over most of London, for the operation of lifts, cranes, presses and similar equipment. Central pumping plants supplied high pressure water to a pipe network, which was extended progressively up to 1939. Post war damage and electrification led to the decline of the Company. In 1981 control of the Company was acquired by a group led by Rothschilds, which recognised the importance of the pipe network for the coming generation of communications systems. The network of 150 miles of pipes, ducts and conduits was sold in 1985 to Mercury Communications Ltd, now owned by Cable and Wireless Ltd, and subsequently many miles of optical fibre cable have been laid in this network.
See http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/h/hydraulic_power_in_london/index.shtml.
This collection also contains records of the predeccessor companies Wharves and Warehouses Steam Power and Hydraulic Pressure Company, London Hydraulic Power Company (which had pumping stations at Falcon Wharf, Rotherhithe, Wapping; City Road, Islington; and Grosvenor Road, Westminster) and Liverpool Hydraulic Power Company, and records of the following associated companies: Aldous Campbell Hypower Limited; Grosvenor Hypower Limited; Hatfield Insurance Company Limited (of 19 Hatfields, London, SE1); Hypower Limited; and De Trafford Estate Company.