The Chalk-Water Controversy in Early Victorian London

REFERENCES

• H.W. Dickinson, Water Supply of Greater London (Newcomen Society, London, 1954). This was published as a memorial volume and tribute to its author, Henry Winram Dickinson.
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• Joseph Prestwich, A Geological Inquiry Respecting the Water-Bearing Strata of the Country Around London with Reference Especially to the Water Supply of the Metropolis, (London, 1851–85).
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• Mr Webster, 'Strata Overlying the Chalk', Trans. Geol. Soc. London, first series, vol. 11 (1814), pp. 171–73. Webster produced two maps, one showing the London basin in comparison with the Paris basin, and the other, at a larger scale, showing the extent of the basin as identified by the outcrop of the chalk. He concluded his statement on the basin by saying — 'The depth of the chalk below the surface of London must be very considerable, since though wells have been sunk several hundreds of feet it has never been reached; but at a few miles south of the metropolis the chalk is frequently come to'.
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• Geological Section from London to Snowden. This section is reproduced facing page 144 in the book by Thomas Sheppard, William Smith his Maps and Memoirs (Hull, 1920).
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• W.D. Conybeare and William Phillips, Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales (London, 1822).
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• For interesting background on early theories on groundwater and springs see Astis K. Biswas, History of Hydrology (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1970).
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• W. Smith, 'On Retaining Water in Rocks for Summer Use,' Philosophical Magazine, new ser., 1(1827), p. 415
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• Conybeare and Phillips, op. cit. (5), p. 87, state: 'The lower beds of the chalk formation, and every fissure in them, are, with few exceptions, completely filled with water. All the rain and snow which fall upon the chalk, percolate downward to the base, where the water is stopped by a subsoil of blue clay, and that occasions it to accumulate in the chalk, until it rises to such a height as doth enable it to flow over the surface of the adjoining land'.
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• Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology: or, the Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants, considered as illustrative of Geology, 6th edn (London, 1840), states: 'The principal cause of this concentration of water at few points is, first, the frequency of rents and fissures, which act as natural drains; secondly, the existence of inequalities in the upper surface of the impermeable stratum, which lead the water, as valleys do on the external surface of a country, into certain levels and channels' (p. 386), and 'Much light has been thrown, of late years, on the theory of springs, by the boring of what are called by the French "Artesian wells", because the method has long been known and practised in Artois; and it is now demonstrated that there are sheets, and, in some places, currents of fresh water, at various depths in the earth' (p. 387).
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• Interestingly, there was no difference in views about the origin of groundwater between the geologists, such as Lye11, who held that the geological strata were formed through a gradual process of erosion and deposition, and those who thought that all erosion and sedimentation was the result of the biblical deluge, such as the Rev. Dr William Buckland. William Buckland, who taught geology at Oxford before his appointment to the Deanery of Westminster in 1845, in his volume, Geology and Mineralogy with Reference to Natural Theology (London, 1836), a volume forming part of the Bridgewater Treatises, aimed at reconciling religion with science, giving a similar explanation on the basis of groundwater. Buckland pp. 70–71 states: 'All per-meable strata receive rainwater at their surface, whence it descends until it is arrested by an impermeable subjacent bed of clay, causing it to accumulate throughout the lower region of each pervious stratum, and to form extensive reservoirs, the overflowings of which on the sides of valleys constitute the ordinary supply of springs and rivers. These reservoirs are not only occasional crevices and caverns, but the entire space of all the small interstices of those lower parts of each permeable stratum, which are beneath the level of the nearest flowing spring. Hence if a well be sunk to the water bearing stratum, it forms a communication with a per-manent subterranean sheet of water, affording plentiful supplies to the inhabitants of upland districts, which are above the level of natural springs'.
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• The strata and their probable thicknesses were: Bagshot sands — sands and gravels — remnant patches; London clay — 100 to 200 feet thick; Lower Tertiary sands and clays — 70 to 80 feet thick; Chalk, upper and lower — 700 to 1000 feet thick; Chalk Marl and Greensands — 20 to 150 feet thick; Gault — clay layer 100 to 150 feet thick; and Lower Greensands — 20 to 700 feet thick. However, naming conventions were not stabilised, the Chalk Marl and Greensands were sometimes called the Upper Greensands.
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• George Turnbull, 'The Water-supply', in Sir Walter Besant, London in the Nineteenth Century, (London, 1909; repr. Garland Publishing, 1985), pp. 347–74.
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• Sir William Clay, Remarks on the Water Supply of London (London, 1849). Clay was Chairman of the Grand Junction, and the Southwark and Vauxhall water companies. In this book he outlined the growth of the supply companies, commented on the quantity and quality of the water supplied, and gave his views on options for improvement. It provides interesting background material from a different perspective from that taken by the other authors, and makes some reference to the chalk water controversy.
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• This approach is now once again in favour, with many espousing the view that Governments should 'steer not row.' But as illustrated by the action of the then British Government on the question of water supplies for London in this period, without ultimate responsibility it is difficult to select a direction in which to steer.
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• Joseph Prestwich, 'Anniversary Address of the President,' Quarterly J. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 28 (1872), p.
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• The success of the deep well sunk at Grenelle in Paris, and the similarity between the two basins was known in London at the time and probably influenced the decisions to sink exploratory wells.
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• Prestwich, op. cit. (15), pp. lvi—lvii.
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• William Buckland, Geology and Mineralogy with Reference to Natural Theology (London, 1836), fn. p. 563, records that a well sunk in 1794 at Norland House on the north-west of Holland House, was artesian, and the Minutes of Proceedings, Institution of Civil Engineers, London, vol. IX (1849–50). Footnote to p. 165 records that a well sunk to a depth of 173 feet at Combe's brewery, Long Acre, in 1827, filled with water to a depth of just 70 feet below the surface.
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• Dickinson, op. cit. (1), p. 103.
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• Difficulties were encountered in its construction and it took five years to complete. There was an in-rush of sand from the sand beds above the chalk as a result of the hydrostatic pressure. However, Robert William Mylne, elder son of William Chadwell Mylne, Engineer to the New River Company, conveyed the strength of the view about the availability of water from this source when presenting a paper on this well in April 1839. In this paper, 'On the Supply of Water from Artesian Wells,' Min. Proc., Ins. Civil Eng., London, vol. I, pt III (1837–41), pp. 59–63, he is recorded as saying: 'Artesian wells, so called from their having been originally adopted in the province of Artois, by the Romans called Artesium, are usually made by boring vertically through a deep stratum of clay into one of sand, which generally contains water. .. . The London basin is peculiarly adapted for these wells, as on the large bowl of chalk is a thick lining of sand, supporting a deep bed of clay, known as the London blue clay'. The daily rate of extraction from this well varied from a low of 14,989 cubic feet in August 1838 when the springs were short to a high of 30,499 cubic feet in March 1839 when they were at their best.
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• Robert Davison, 'Description of the Mode adopted for sinking a well at Messrs. Trueman, Hanabury, Buxton and Co's Brewery', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. II, pt I (1842–43), pp. 192–94.
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• Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. IX (1849–50), p. 161.
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• Joseph Prestwich, op. cit. (2), p. 57.
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• Ibid., p. 57, these were Tring and St Albans north of the Thames, and Arundel, Brighton, Deal, Dover, Gravesend, Ramsgate and Winchester in the south and south-east.
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• Summarised by Prof. Boyd Dawkins in the James Forest Lecture, 'On the Relation of Geology to Engineering', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. CXXXIV, pt IV (1897–98), p. 259.
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• Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XIV (1854–55), p. 50.
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• Ibid., p. 50.
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• See 'Extract from the Report of Mr Robert Stephenson to the London and Westminster Water Company' included in paper by Peter William Barlow, 'On some peculiar features of the Water-bearing Strata of the London Basin', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XIV (1854–55), pp. 49–50.
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• The yield from this single well was 1,800,000 gallons of water per day, see Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. IX (1849–50), pp. 161–62.
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• Prestwich, op. cit. (2), fn. p. 57.
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• Turnbull, op. cit. (12), p. 362.
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• An interesting description of the work of gentlemen geologists is given by Martin J. S. Rudwick in his book The Great Devonian Controversy (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1985).
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• Charles Lyell's significant book making a case for uniformitarianism, Principles of Geology, op. cit. (9) was published in three volumes between 1830 and 1833, and subsequently revised and enlarged in a number of editions. Uniformitarianism is the term used to describe the concept that processes of gradual change shaped the earth, as opposed to catastrophes, such as the Biblical deluge.
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• Such a view is given some backing by a statement recorded in the Minutes of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. II, pt 1(1842–43), p. 159, that: `Mr. Clutterbuck's observations had been caused by a project for obtaining a supply of water for the Metropolis, from wells to be sunk in the valley of the Colne.' This statement was made by John Dickinson, who operated a paper mill in the district. H.W. Dickinson in his history, op. cit. (1), p. 105, stated that most of the evidence placed before the House of Lords Committee set up in 1840 to consider the supply of water concerned a proposal by a London and Westminster Water Company to draw water from the chalk at Bushey Meadows, which suggests that the level of opposition to the scheme may have led Clutterbuck to take up his investigation.
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• Prestwich, in his book, op. cit. (2), p. 62, records that Mr W. Bland, Jr, had, in 1832, published in the Philosophical Magazine, tables of the level of water standing in wells along two lines about six miles apart running from Sittingbourne to Maidstone in Kent.
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• Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. IX (1849–50), p. 155.
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• Buckland was one of the pioneer gentleman geologists. He had been appointed Reader in min-eralogy and geology at Oxford and was no doubt known to Clutterbuck, who was an Oxford graduate. He was interested in engineering and was an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
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• Reverend James Clutterbuck, 'Observations on the Periodic Drainage and Replenishment of the Subterraneous Reservoir in the Chalk Basin of London', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. II, pt I (1842–43), pp. 155–65.
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• William Buckland, op. cit. (18).
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• Rev. J.C. Clutterbuck, M.A., 'Observations on the periodic drainage and replenishment of the subterraneous Reservoir in the chalk basin of London. Continuation of the paper read at the Institution, May 31st, 1842', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. II, pt 11 (1842–43), pp. 156–65.
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• Ibid., p. 162.
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• Ibid., p. 158. Clutterbuck states: 'The chalk under London is of a much closer nature than that in upper districts; it yields the water sparingly but steadily from orifices beneath those beds or bands of flint which are the most unbroken and the strongest, and from faults and cracks which are frequently met with. The constant and increasing demand not only depresses the level under London, but must accelerate the exhaustion of the reservoir above'.
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• Rev. J.C. Clutterbuck, M.A., 'On the Periodic Alterations, and Progressive Permanent Depres-sion, of the Chalk Water level under London', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. IX (1849–50), pp. 151–80.
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• Ibid., p. 154.
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• Ibid. p. 155. Clutterbuck is recorded as saying that his findings were: 'looked upon with considerable incredulity, being considered more theoretical than practical'.
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• By 1849 Stephenson had changed his mind on the chalk's potential. Prestwich, op. cit. (2), fn. p. 57, states that Stephenson told a meeting of architects that the sand and chalk would not be at all adequate to the water supply of the Metropolis. Also, Sir William Clay, op. cit. (13), viewed the supply schemes based on wells in London as impractical and objected to the quality and the quantity of the water available from Bushey Meadows.
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• Professor Ansted, the first Professor of Geology at King's College, London held a high reputation in his field as a result of the publication of his book on geology in 1844.
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• Professor David Thomas Ansted, 'On the Absorbent power of Chalk, and its water Content under different Conditions', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. IX (1849–50), pp. 360–75.
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• Ibid., p. 367. Ansted states: 'It may also be considered, that wherever the gault extends, under-lying the chalk and keeping up the water, there must be at, and below, a certain depth from the surface, a supply of water to the extent of one hundred and eighty millions of gallons for each square mile of one yard thickness; and that the surface of permanent wetness, dependent chiefly on the present rain-fall, is so far above this lower surface of saturation, as to ensure a supply, at least equal to one-half the rain falling on the whole immediately surrounding district'.
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• Ibid., p. 366. Ansted states: 'It is clear, that the chalk must be regarded as a rock which every-where admits to percolation of water, receiving into itself, and conveying to its lower bed, the water that falls on, or is brought to its surface'. He did, however, acknowledge in discussion a difference between absorbent power and percolation. He is recorded as saying (p. 375): 'What had been determined with regard to percolation, was sufficient to show, that no one well would supply the immense quantity of water that was required for a large city, although sufficient might be thus obtained for the supply of a large brewery, or other establishment. In his opinion, the supply of water for a large town, much less that for such a city as London, should never be dependent on wells sunk into the chalk. He did not wish, however, to enter into that subject, his object being rather to bring forward facts, relative to the question of the absorbent power of rocks'.
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• Prof. Boyd Dawkins, op. cit. (25), p. 262, states: 'the failure of wells, sunk through chalk free from fissures and cavities, proves that capillary water does not travel with sufficient swiftness to be available. The engineer at the bottom of a shaft sunk under these conditions is a very Tantalus, with abundance of unavailable water on every side within his touch'.
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• See 'Extract from a Report addressed by Mr Homersham to the Directors of the London (Watford) Spring Water Company', in paper by Peter William Barlow, 'On some peculiar fea-tures of the Water-bearing Strata of the London Basin', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XIV (1854–55), p. 48.
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• Ansted, op. cit. (48), p. 367.
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• John Dickinson, who held a patent for the manufacture of paper of indefinite length in demand for the growing newspaper industry, and operated the Nash Mills paper mill in the district.
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• Nash Mills is referred to variously as being at Abbots Langley, and at Hemel Hempsted, Hertfordshire.
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• Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. 11(1842–43), p. 160 sets out results for the period September 1835 to March 1843, and vol. IX (1849–50), p. 158 gives the figures for January 1843 to March 1849.
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• Papers covering these issues appear in various volumes of the Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London; over this period papers were presented by J. Leslie, vol. X (1850–51); F. Braithwaite, vol. XX (1860–61); J.B. Denton, vol. XXI (1861–62); R. Manning, vol. XXV (1865–66); A. Leslie, vol. XXXI, pt 11 (1870–71); P. Neville, vol. XXXVIII, pt 11 (1873–74); A. Binnie, vol. XXXIX, pt 1(1874–75) and J. Evans, vol. XLV, pt III (1875–76).
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• Sir John Evans, F.R.S., nephew of John Dickinson and a partner in the paper mill, noted for his work in geology and archaeology, see Dictionary of National Biography, second supplement, vol. 1 (London, 1912).
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• See Braithwaite, 'On the Rise and Fall of the River Wandle; its Springs, Tributaries, and Pollu-tion', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XX (1860–61), pp. 191–258. These records shown on pp. 220–24, extended the data to the end of 1860. They indicated large variations in annual percolation and a seasonal pattern with the bulk of the percolation taking place in winter. Further results taking measurements up to 1875 were presented in the paper by John Evans 'On the Percolation of the Rainfall on Absorbent Soils', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XLV, pt III (1875–76), pp. 208–16.
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• Charles Greaves, 'On Evaporation and on Percolation', Min. Proc. Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XLV, pt III (1875–76), pp. 19–47. His records covered the years 1852 to 1873.
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• Statement by John Evans, 'The Anniversary Address of the President', Quart. J. & Proc., Geol. Soc. London, vol. 32 (1876), p. 116.
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• These gauges were established by Dr. Gilbert and Sir John Laws as part of their investigations into agricultural productivity, designed to measure percolation through undisturbed ground. The gauges had a surface area of one thousandth of an acre kept free of vegetation. They pro-vided measurements of percolation through undisturbed depths of 20,40 and 60 inches. When allowance was made for the water that would have been taken up by vegetation, the results were found to support the Nash Mills findings. Details of the construction of the gauges and the measurements over a 20-year period 1870–90 are set out in Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. CV, pt. III (1890–91), pp. 31–48.
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• Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. IX (1849–50), p. 161. Homersham stated: 'He consid-ered, however, that there was little water communication between the chalk under London and the hills around, but that a great proportion of the water found was derived from the bed of the Thames, and of the English Channel, the bottom of which consisted of chalk, as was shown in the section from the Chiltern Hills to the sea, through Watford, London, and Grays Thurrock. This view was confirmed by all the analyses that had been made of the water procured from under London, which was found to contain a large quantity of soda and salt'.
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• Samuel Collett Homersham, 'The Chalk Strata Considered as a Source for the Supply of Water to the Metropolis', Journal of the Society of Arts (31 January 1855), pp. 168–82.
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• Lyon Playfair, later Baron of St Andrews, had obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry under Liebig at Giessen, Germany, at this time he held the position of Chemist to the Geological Survey and Professor at the School of Mines. First Supplement to Dictionary of National Biography, vol. III (1901), pp. 270–72.
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• Michael Faraday at this time held the position of Professor of Chemistry in the Royal Institution, London. DNB, vol. XVIII (1889), pp. 190–202.
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• Min. Proc. Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. IX (1849–50), pp. 160–61.
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• Ibid., pp. 159,160, records Playfair as saying: 'First on carefully examining the quality of water of the streams at Watford, which, by percolation, supplied a large portion of the water in the London basin, it was found that there was less common salt, than there was in the water of the wells in London. The amount of salt in the London wells was 25 grains per gallon, being a much larger quantity than was found at Watford; but there was another, and a greater chemical change, which took place, in the percolation through the chalk, so much so, that it could scarcely be believed, that the well water found in the chalk, came from that formation. . . . On examining the chalk a certain quantity of silicate of soda was found. When the water which contained carbonate of lime in solution, filtered through the chalk, and met with this silicate, its carbonic acid seized the alkali, and formed carbonate of soda. Chalk, or carbonate of lime was not soluble in water, unless in the presence of free carbonic acid; if that was taken away, the chalk, being deprived of its solvent would be precipitated. Now this actually took place, on account of the silicate, and thus the chalk was removed, and by a subsequent decomposition, the sulphate of lime also, so that water was finally obtained in the London basin, containing a very small quantity of earthy salts, but a large quantity of soda salts'. Playfair quotes Watford water as containing 10 grains to 25 grains of earthy (Calcium) salts per gallon and London chalk water as containing only from 6 to 7 grains per gallon.
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• Ibid., p. 160.
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• Homersham did acknowledge some difference in the chalk's uniformity. In a contribution to discussion at the Institution of Civil Engineers he stated: 'It was the difference in the permeabil-ity or the hardness of the various strata that caused the water to flow more or less freely in different directions, and would account for many of the observed phenomena'. MM. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XIV (1854–55), p. 72.
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• Fredrick Braithwaite, whose firm had a long involvement with well sinking and had maintained detailed records over many years, demonstrated that the surface of the chalk was uneven with the surface level varying from 70 feet to 200 feet below Trinity High Water. His sections are reproduced on Plate 7, MM. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. IX (1849–50).
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• See contribution to discussion by Dr Mantell on experience in the South Downs following the paper by Ansted, op. cit. (48), p. 371.
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• Prestwich was the son of a London wine merchant. He had the benefit of an education at a number of different schools, including two years at one in Paris, as well as studying under a private tutor. He also spent a year at University College, London before entering his father's business, which he took over in 1842. Prestwich devoted his spare time to his scientific interests which came to concentrate on geology. In 1874 at age 62 he was appointed to the Chair of Geology at Oxford. DNB, first supplement, vol. III, pp. 284–87.
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• Prestwich was well regarded for his work on the coalfield at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire,, and on deposits of the Eocene and Pliocene epochs of the Tertiary periods.
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• Prestwich, op. cit. (2). His book entitled A Geological Inquiry Respecting The Water-bearing Strata of the Country Around London: with Reference Especially to the Water Supply of the Metropolis, was printed in London in 1851 and re-issued, with additions, in 1895.
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• Ibid., p. 1.
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• Ibid., Article 39, p. 40.
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• Ibid., Article 40, p.41. It passes apparently near Beckenham and Lewisham, and then crossing the Thames near Deptford, continues up part, if not along the whole length, of the valley of the Lea towards Hoddesdon.
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• Turnbull, op. cit. (12), p. 362. The Commission accepted the link between the spread of cholera and drinking water, and supported the scheme on the basis that water from the chalk wells was pure.
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• The Greensands which lay below the chalk formed the aquifer exploited in a very productive well at Grenelle in Paris, and experience there suggested they might have a similar capability to serve London. Prestwich devoted a large part of his book to discussing the potential of these strata.
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• In 1849 Simpson advised the Lambeth Company to move their works to Seething Wells, between Thames Ditton and Kingston. Obituary, Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XXX (1870), pp. 457–68.
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• The legislation required all Thames water intakes to be removed beyond tidal influence by August 1856.
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• Peter William Barlow, 'On some peculiar features of the Water-bearing Strata of the London Basin', MM. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XV (1854–55), pp. 42–95.
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• Experience was to prove these to be disappointing in the London area. See W. Whitaker, 'The Geology of London and of part of the Thames Valley, Vol. I, Descriptive Geology', in Memoirs of the Geological Survey, England and Wales (London, 1889), p. 508.
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• Frederick Braithwaite, 'On the Infiltration of Salt-Water into the Springs of Wells under London and Liverpool', MM. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XIV (1854–55), pp. 507–23.
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• Prestwich, op. cit. (2), p. 222.
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• There was considerable discussion of the possibility of this infiltration following a paper by Frederick Braithwaite, 'On the Infiltration of Salt-Water into the Springs of Wells under London and Liverpool', MM. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XIV (1854–55), pp. 507–23; and a paper by Charles Edwards Amos, 'On the Government Waterworks in Trafalgar Square', MM. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XIX (1859–60), pp. 21–52.
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• In this they ignored Playfair's outline of the likely chemical changes that would occur in the water as it travelled a long distance through the chalk fissures. See note 68.
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• Perhaps the prospect of substantial fees flowing to the engineer who obtained parliamentary approval for a water supply scheme sharpened Homersham's interest in situations where schemes were plausible and dulled his acceptance of evidence to the contrary. To others it was clear that 'The effect of the great transverse fault, passing through Deptford, which has been described by Mr Prestwich, is to cut out the water on the east side from assisting the supply of London; 'statement in the report to the South Eastern Railway Company' by Prof. Ansted, in Barlow, op. cit. (83), p. 58.
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• Turnbull, op. cit. (12), p. 365. These were proposed by S.C. Homersham, P.W. Barlow, and R. Meeson
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• Joseph Prestwich,op. cit. (15), p.
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• This time it was for a scheme by the Colne Valley Water Company with J.F. Bateman as Engineer.
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• William Fox, 'Borings in the Chalk at Bushey, Herts', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XC (1886–87), pp. 21–27.
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• Turnbull, op. cit. (12), p. 368.
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• Now Sir John Evans, F.R.S. See note 58 above.
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• John Evans, op. cit. (61), pp. 115–21.
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• See John Evans' contribution to discussion on paper by Frederick Braithwaite, 'On the Rise and Fall of the River Wandle; its Springs, Tributaries, and Pollution', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XX (1860–61), p. 219, and tables pp. 220–224, and John Evans 'On the Per-colation of the Rainfall on Absorbent Soils', Min. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XLV, pt III (1875–76), pp. 208–16.
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• John Evans, op. cit. (61), p. 116, states: 'They incidentally admit that the water drawn from the subterranean reservoir in the Chalk by artificial means will be at the expense of the streams which now flow through the valleys in the Chalk area, but do not give even a passing consideration to the effect upon that area of abstract-ing from its natural supply of water and conveying it . . . to London, should the scheme they advocate ever be carried into effect. It can hardly be believed that a proposal such as this, involving the diversion of the whole of the water from the natural springs and streams over an area of not less than 440 square miles (an area larger than that of several English counties), should have been brought forward without the slightest reference to what would be the result upon such a vast extent of country, the inhabitants of which are to be sacrificed to the presumed needs of this overgrown city'.
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• Joseph Lucas, 'The Chalk Water System,' MM. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. XLVII (1876–77), pp. 70–167.
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• Ibid., p. 82.
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• John Thornhill Harrison, 'On the Subterranean Water in the Chalk Formation of the Upper Thames, and its Relation to the Supply of London', MM. Proc., Inst. Civil Eng., London, vol. CV, pt III (1890–91), pp. 2–99.
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• The chalk outcrop in the north-west quarter extending from Hertford to Devizes, an area of about 1200 square miles of what was claimed to be exposed chalk.
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• W. Whitaker, op. cit. (84).
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• G. Barrow, 'Records of London Wells', Memoirs of the Geological Survey, England and Wales (His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1913).
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