Reports and correspondence respecting the drainage of the new palace at Westminster : January, 1849.

  • London (England). Metropolitan Commission of Sewers.
Date:
[1849]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Reports and correspondence respecting the drainage of the new palace at Westminster : January, 1849. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Sewers for Westminster, and that the lowest available depth of drainage was adopted of which the data furnished by that Commission would admit. Secondly, That the system was ar¬ ranged at a time when the present vaults of the building were not in contempla¬ tion. Thirdly, That the system is as yet only partially carried out, in consequence of the unfinished state of the building; and that many of the existing arrangements connected with the drainage are either unfinished, or are of a temporary nature. Fourthly, That during ten hours upon an average in every tide, the outfalls of the public and Palace main sewers are closed by the rise of the tide in the River, and all drainage from the New Palace is consequently stopped for that time periodi¬ cally. Under these circumstances no other system than that which was adopted was found to be practicable; but it has been long the intention of the Architect to re¬ commend the adoption of an exclusive system for the New Palace, by which its drains should be entirely cut off from the public sewers. 1. The sewer A A from Abingdon streei to the River at Westminster bridge was constructed to receive the sewers fron the New Palace, at the instance of the late Westminster Commissioners of Sewers 1 he private sewer B B traverses the whole length of the new buildings, and it woulc appear that it was intended originally te have its outfall at each end into the publie sewer just described. The northern am 1. Both the sewers A A and B B were constructed in 1837 and 1838. The north¬ ern arm C C was cut off in 1842 on the unexpected discovery of an old sewer passing through the abutment of West¬ minster bridge, and communicating with the Bridge-street sewer near its outfall into the Thames, by which an additional depth of five feet six inches was ob¬ tained for the outfall of the Palace drains,