Papers of the Commissioners of Sewers, City of London, covering the regulation, planning and financing of works to maintain and improve drainage, sewers, paving and lighting in and around the City of London. The papers reflect ninteenth century concerns about the pollution of the River Thames.

The collection includes plan books, 1835-1900; plans c 1770s-1840s; administrative records, 1863-1899; deeds, 1680 onwards; Journal of the Commissioner of Sewers, 1680-1898; Proceedings of the Commissioners of Sewers, 1765-1797; minute books, 1827-1898; report books, 1696-1885; printed reports, 1832-1899, including accounts and reports on sewers, pavements, housing, sanitary matters, slaughter houses, food, gas, electric lighting, water, cemeteries, cholera and tramways; letter books, 1768-1851; papers relating to street paving, 1718-1913; papers relating to the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Sewage Discharge, 1853-1903; record of air raid damage to sewers, 1940-1947; financial records, 1667-1918.

Laboratory notebook possibly compiled in laboratories at Crossness Pumping Station, Belvedere Road, Abbey Wood, SE2; containing wide range of analyses including: water quality, gas testing, Thames mud, sand, sewage, cow shed water, asbestos, petroleum, and so on. Several entries concern a Thames Pollution enquiry. The volume also contained 'Oxygen Sag Curve' analyses of the Thames. It is probable that the work was carried out for the Metropolitan Board of Works.

Case transcripts, press cuttings, memoranda, reports and correspondence acquired by Henry Hillyard, Sanitary Inspector to Malvern UDC, relating to cases concerning responsibility for polluted water at a hydropathic establishment and a school in Malvern, 1898-1910.

Records of the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board, including minutes of Board meetings; papers relating to staff including wages and superannuation; papers regarding the Sadler's Mill stream diversion; papers regarding flood relief and defences; correspondence and papers of the Association of River Authorities; papers relating to clearing the river; petitions; rainfall statistics; fishing rights; papers regarding members of the Board; drainage schemes; public relations files; papers regarding the Water Resources Act 1973; reports; papers regarding the acquisition of properties; and agreements for works, clearing, drainage, diversions, improvements, flood prevention, land sales and so on.

Papers of Vice Admiral Sir Ian McGeoch, 1946-1996, including papers from McGeoch's naval career including his time as commander of Royal Navy Base Portsmouth, 1955; as Naval Liaison Officer, RAF Coastal Command, 1955-1956 and as Flag Officer, Submarines and Northern Ireland and Scotland, 1965-1970.

Research notes, essays and transcripts of talks by McGeoch on naval topics including research notes for The Princely Sailor: Mountbatten of Burma; editorials and articles by McGeoch for Naval Forces; correspondence including with Vice Admiral Sir Louis Le Bailly, 1993-1994; Sir John Hackett and Michael Howard, 1971; papers relating to the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies including correspondence regarding submissions and talks by McGeoch, newsletters, annual reports, articles by McGeoch, council minutes, charter, bye-laws and standing orders, 1950-1991 and printed books and journals on military history.

Papers and correspondence on topics including party politics in McGeoch's local area, particularly the Conservative Party, 1971-1974; the British Atlantic Council, 1974-1994; national security, disarmament and arms control, 1974-1986; the security of North Sea oil rigs, 1975-1981; fisheries and pollution in the North Sea, 1976; the Baltic and Mediterranean protection of the marine environment; UK defence policy, 1981; the British Atlantic Committee, 1983-1984; the Atlantic Treaty Association Assembly, Toronto, 8-13 Oct 1984; House of Commons Defence Committee, 1986-1988; the future of the Royal Navy Engineering College, Manadon, and McGeoch's campaign to keep it open, 1993; McGeoch's letter to The Times and on whether Polaris submarines should have a Christian launching service and the education of Royal Navy officers, 1993-1994.

Letters patent appointing the commissioners; orders of court; minutes of various Committees including the General Purposes Committee, By-laws Committee, Committee on Claims, Disposal of Refuse Committee, Finance Committee, Trial Works Committee, Sewage Manure Committee and Ordnance Survey Committee; original contracts for the construction of new sewers, including plans, sections and elevations; registers of in-letters; letter books for out-letters; drainage applications; registers of applications to construct sewers and drains; registers of proposed drainage of buildings; registers of house drainage; register of complaints; applications for private works on sewers and drains; registers of streets showing existence or absence of sewers and drains; surveyor's report books; staff records; financial accounts; rate books; printed items bound into volumes, including reports (several written by Joseph Bazalgette), papers, resolutions, prospectuses, surveys and inspections on various subjects including sewers and drains, cesspools, sewage, manure, waterways, flushing operations, public health, industrial sites, public conveniences, subterranean surveys, tides and water supply; minutes of the Commissioners and plans and maps of sewers, drains and waterways.

Papers of Max Joseph von Pettenkofer, [1891], relate to his interest and work concerning sanitation and pollution and comprise a handwritten manuscript titled 'On the self purification of rivers'.

Papers of Professor Alfred John Sutton Pippard, 1909-1970, comprising biographical papers, 1909-1969, including an unpublished autobiography written towards the end of his life, two scrapbooks covering his career, two scrapbooks relating to his Presidency of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1958-1959;
papers relating to scientific work, 1918-1969, largely concerned with research on aircraft structures, including committee papers and reports prepared for the Aeronautical Research Council in the interwar years; papers relating to the Thames Pollution Committee including Pippard's own account of its work;
papers relating to lectures, articles and broadcasting, [1920-1969], covering a variety of topics, including aircraft and aviation, engineering structures, education and training of engineers; BBC radio broadcasts, notably scripts for two series of talks to schools,1920s; correspondence, 1956-1967.

Records of the Courts of Conservancy, 1646-1857, including sessions held in London, Essex, Middlesex, Kent and Surrey for breaches of regulations covering encroachments, wharves, fishing, obstructing or fouling the river and similar offences. The papers include grand jury presentments, writs, court minutes, court notes, court orders, committee minutes and administrative papers.

Records of Thames Water predecessor companies (water supply) and local authorities (waste water management including sewer network), comprising the following:

ACC/2558/CH: Chelsea Waterworks Company

ACC/2558/DV: Darenth Valley Main Sewerage Board

ACC/2558/EL: East London Waterworks Company

ACC/2558/GJ: Grand Junction Waterworks Company

ACC/2558/KE: Kent Waterworks Company

ACC/2558/LA: Lambeth Waterworks Company

ACC/2558/LC: Lee Conservancy Catchment Board

ACC/2558/LL: London Local Authorities, Metropolitan Board of Works, London County Council and Greater London Council

ACC/2558/MW: Metropolitan Water Board

ACC/2558/NR: New River Company

ACC/2558/S: Shadwell Waterworks Company

ACC/2558/SR: Staines Reservoir Joint Committee

ACC/2558/SV: Southwark and Vauxhall Water Company

ACC/2558/TW: Thames Water Authority

ACC/2558/WK: West Kent Main Sewerage Board

ACC/2558/WM: West Middlesex Waterworks Company

The records include corporate records and minutes, staff records, clerk's papers, records relating to water supply and distribution, technical reports, purchase records, property records, legal papers, plans, substantial series of photographs, glass plate negatives and lanterns slides (especially clean water: under ACC/2558/MW/PH, ACC/2558/MW/GP and ACC/2558/MW/L and sewer and waste water: under ACC/2558/LL/PH) and financial accounts and ledgers.

Cataloguing of this collection has been funded by Thames Water. For more information about the cataloguing project which was completed September 2019, please see 'The Thames Water Treasure Trove' in 'Source' magazine, July 2016 (library reference: 24.217 THA). London Metropolitan Archives would like to thank Thames Water for funding the cataloguing of this collection.

Papers of John Wright relating to his campaign to improve the water supply of the Grand Junction Waterworks Company. The records comprise: papers relating to the water supply in the Metropolis, 1719-1831; and letter of appeal concerning John Wright's efforts to improve the water supply, 1829.