The London Museum of Water and Steam

Kew Bridge Works started supplying water in 1838, the Maudslay and Boulton & Watt engine house being built at this time. The engine supplied by Maudslay, Sons & Field then delivered the water to the company’s customers at Paddington.In 1840 and 1842 the two Boulton & Watt engines, which had worked at Chelsea, were re-erected at Kew Works and supplied water to Ealing as well as Paddington.The reservoir and filter beds were constructed between 1844 and 1846 and two small ‘grasshopper’ engines, sited where the Bull engine is now, transferred water from the Thames into the reservoir. At the same time the GJWWC built the ‘New Engine House’ to house the 90″ engine. The original lattice standpipe tower was built at this time. Its purpose was to ensure even pressure in the pumping station and to protect the engines against a catastrophic water mains failure. Once these works were completed the Maudslay and Boulton & Watt engines were converted to the more efficient ‘Cornish Cycle’.
Continued concern about the quality of the water taken from the tidal section of the Thames resulted in the Metropolitan Water Act of 1852 which obliged the water companies to take their water from above Teddington Weir, the tidal limit of the Thames. The GJWWC company built new intake and treatment works at Hampton and the water was then pumped to Kew Works which became an intermediate pumping and treatment station. Increased demand was met by the installation of the 100″ engine in 1871. In the meantime the current brick standpipe tower was built to replace the original tower that had been damaged by frost. At this point the works were largely as they are now.