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Pinner Local History Society – Mercenary River: A History of London’s Water
2 February 2023 @ 20:00 - 22:00
Pinner Local History Society
Thursday 2nd February at 8pm Pinner Village Hall, Chapel Lane, Pinner.
Title: Mercenary River: A History of London’s Water
Speaker: Nick Higham
Visitors are very welcome (suggested donation £3).
The talk will highlight the conflict of interests arising when a commercial enterprise, out to make profits for its shareholders, provides a public service. This is a 17th century problem that is all too familiar today. It’s a story of remarkable technological, scientific and organisational breakthroughs, greed, complacency, high finance and low politics. Among the breakthroughs were the picturesque New River, neither new nor a river but a state-of-the-art aqueduct completed in 1613 and still part of London’s water supply. The company that built it was one of the first modern business corporations and one of the most profitable. We will also hear horrid details about the sources, and contents, of some of the water supplied to Victorian London.
Nick is a well known journalist and author. He worked for the BBC for some 30 years and was their arts and media correspondent. He has recently published a book with the same title as his talk. Andrew Marr’s review of the book says ‘ Anyone interested in London needs to read this book’.