Turning on the Waterworks

Britain’s privatised water companies are under attack, but private ownership of a vital public service has a long history of controversy.

The waterworks built beneath old London Bridge by Peter Morice in 1581 to supply water to the City, c.1600.
The waterworks built beneath old London Bridge by Peter Morice in 1581 to supply water to the City, c.1600. Heritage Images/Getty Images.

In 1581 Peter Morice began paying the City of London ten shillings a year to rent the northernmost arch of London Bridge. Under the arch he installed a waterwheel to pump river water into a tank and, from there, distributed it in a network of wooden pipes beneath the streets.

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