Newcommen Society - The History of the Queen Mary Reservoir

The Queen Mary Reservoir was built as a result of the huge expansion in unfiltered water capacity initiated by the Metropolitan Water Board, after it was formed in 1902 to take over London’s water supply from the previous private companies. Originally known as the Littleton Reservoir after the Middlesex village it virtually obliterated, on its opening in 1925 it gained its current name, and was the world’s largest free-standing reservoir (as opposed to one constructed by damming a river valley).

Beginning with a look at the area before the reservoir, the talk goes on to look at the massive engineering effort involved in the construction of the reservoir, including overcoming some unexpected geological challenges which forced a major redesign. An extensive railway network was put in place around the perimeter of the site to facilitate the work, and huge excavators were assembled on site. Also covered are the construction of the inlet channel from the nearby River Thames and the associated pumping station.

The reservoir was put to some surprising uses during the Second World War, and narrowly escaped being seriously damaged by bombing. The talk concludes with a look at the reservoir today and its use for leisure purposes in addition to its primary role in supplying London with water.