Gentlemen,
In laying before you a Statement,
or Annual Report, of the various matters in my department, and
works executed under my supervision, I would be allowed to state,
that the parish of Kensington having been regulated since 1851,
by the Kensington Improvement Act, passed in that year, has not
been so substantially benefitted by the present Act, as have many
other of the metropolitan parishes.
During the four to five years the said Act was in operation, a
vast number of improvements were effected, such as repairing
footways, which were in a bad and dilapidated condition, and
paving others which were not then paved. A total sum in
this item was expended to the amount of £9024 5s. 9d.
The sanitary state of the Parish was greatly improved by the
properly scavengering and repairing roads, which had been
neglected for many years. A large amount of material was
used, and I am happy to state, that during the term before
mentioned, I was enabled to put these Roads into a good
trafficable condition.
The Act
consolidated the various Lighting Districts then existing under
the 3rd & 4th Will. 4, Cap. 90, and enabled the Commissioners
to supply between two to three hundred additional lamps, and so
better regulate and diffuse the lighting over the whole
parish.
Many new streets were paved and repaired by the owners, and
others made up under the 27th section, all of which were taken to
by the Commissioners.
Under the provisions of the present Act, the whole of the
management of the sewerage and drainage of the parish (the main
lines excepted), together with certain regulations as to
buildings, have been imposed upon the vestry; and I now
endeavour, as briefly as possible, to describe the general manner
by which this parish is drained, and to give an epitome of the
general works done since the passing of the said Act.
The Sewerage of this Parish is Received
into Four Main Lines; viz.: the Counter Creek, the
Church-street Sewer, the Queen-street Sewer, and Smith-street
Sewer; of these, the Counter Creek is of the most importance, as
it to a great extent serves to receive the various minor
sewers. This sewer enters two portions of the parish, one
division at its northern, and the other at its eastern
side. At the extreme northern boundary, at Kensal Green, it
has three distinct branches, western, central and eastern,
flowing south and westerly, having two branches on the east and
one on the west.
The branch on the west is an open stream, passes as a brick
sewer under the Canal and the Great Western Railway, where it
again appears as an open ditch, and continues along on the verge
of the Parish, there it crosses into the Latimer Road out of the
Parish Boundaries,—at this point it is a brick sewer.
The
central branch commences at the front of the Kensal Green
Cemetery, proceeds as a Brick Sewer under the Canal and Railway,
when it appears as an open ditch running southerly to the Walmer
Road. The eastern branch enters this parish from Kensal New
Town at the Canal Bridge as a brick sewer, then ceases as a
covered sewer, and proceeds as an open ditch, with brick invert
to its junction with the central branch,—from this point
the central and eastern branches combine as one stream to the
Bramley Road, and continue as a brick sewer, 6 ft. by 4 ft., at
the west side of St. James’ Square, Norlands: here the
western branch returns from Hammersmith parish, and forms
junction with the above and central line, and continues as one
sewer, 6 ft. by 4ft., along St. Ann’s Road, across Royal
Crescent, under the Uxbridge Road, along by the western side of
Addison Road, across the Western Road, continuing along Warwick
Road, receiving at Pembroke Road the eastern branch, continuing
into and across the Old Brompton Road, along the east side of
Brompton Cemetery to the limits of the parish in the Fulham
Road.
The eastern division of the Counter Creek enters the parish
from Paddington at the north end of Palace Gardens, there passes
into St. Margaret’s, Westminster, and again returns into
Kensington at the Kensington Road, by the North end of Young
Street, and proceeds south-westerly through Kensington Square,
east side, along south end to the Workhouse, continuing to and
along Pembroke Road, to its junction with the principal line in
the Warwick Road.
Into the western branch of the Counter Creek are carried by
various drains the surface drainage of the meadow land, extending
from Kensal Green to the boundaries of the parish—east and
west, up to the Lancaster Road; at this point commence the sewers
which have been constructed for the drainage of the neighbourhood
of Notting Hill, Norlands, and Westbourne Grove, all of which have their
outlets into the Counter Creek, passing over the Uxbridge
Road. North of Kensington Road, east and west, the drainage
is to the Counters Creek. On the south side of the
Kensington Road including all such portions of Kensington New
Town, on the west side of Victoria Road, extending to the
Pembroke Road, the outlet of the sewers is also into the Counters
Creek.
The area of the parish extending south from its northern
boundaries at Kensal Green, east and west to the Western Road,
and from thence all the southern and western portion, including
Kensington New Town are drained into the Counters Creek.
This portion of the parish includes the highest and lowest land,
being 126 ft. at the south of Notting Hill Square, and 17ft. at
St. Mark’s Road—ordnance datum.
The Church Street Sewer, commences
in the Gloucester Road, opposite Canning Place, continues along
the Gloucester Road, receiving the Drainage from Victoria Grove,
Gore Road, and adjacent Streets, proceeds by and past Hereford
Square to the termination of the Gloucester Road, into the Old
Brompton Road, turns eastward, receives the Sewers from
Gloucester Grove East and West, continues southerly down Selwood
Lane unto the limits of the parish in the Fulham Road.
This Sewer is carried through a portion of the parish, the
land of which has been till recently under culture as Market
Gardens. The newly-formed roads here of the Royal
Exhibition Commissioners Mr. Jackson and others have given an
impulse to building in this locality to which this Sewer will be
an important outlet for the drainage.
The Queen Street Sewer, commences
on the east side of the Gloucester Road, Kensington, proceeds
southerly in an irregular form, through the land belonging to the
Royal Exhibition Commissioners—forms a junction with a
branch from Park Lane, continues in an irregular and uneven
course into Cromwell Lane, and then westerly into the Old
Brompton Road, thence south easterly down Pelham Road, into
Pelham Place, where it receives the drainage from Alfred Place
West, Thurloe Square, and South Street—from Pelham Place it
is directed westerly into Pelham Crescent, and thence westward
along Fulham Road, receiving at Sydney Place, the partial
drainage of Onslow Square, and then it proceeds to its outlet
from the parish by Sydney Street.
The Smith Street Sewer, commences
at the eastern limit of Brompton Road, proceeds westward along
the Brompton Road into the Fulham Road, and passes from the
parish at Keppell Street. This Sewer is the outlet for the
adjacent Sewers on the North side of the Brompton Road; and of
Grove Place, Michael’s Grove, and Brompton Crescent, on the
South Side.
A portion of the Kensington branch of the Counter Creek sewer,
taking the drainage from Notting-hill, east of the Turnpike-gate,
Uxbridge, and other streets and places in that locality, passing
through a part of St. Margaret’s, Westminster, to
Young-street, receiving the drainage from several streets and
places in the town proper, and also the whole of the drainage from
Kensington New-town. At the Workhouse the sewer is 5 ft. 6
in. by 3 ft. 6 in., and here terminates; the sewage matter, being
conveyed from thence along the Pembroke-road, by an 18 in. glazed
stoneware pipe, which also receives the drainage of the
Pembroke-road and Hutchinson’s estate.
In consequence of the difference in size of sewers, as here
marked out, the basements of a vast number of houses in the
New-town and other places have been flooded from time to time,
and serious inconveniences have in consequence arisen to the
ratepayers in those localities.
It is worthy of remark, that after representations made by the
vestry to the General Board in August last, they directed a sewer
of equal size, viz.: 5ft. 6in. by 3ft. 6in. to be substituted for
the 18 in. stoneware pipe, which will effectually remedy the very
serious evil pointed out.
The total lengths of sewers in this parish, under the
immediate direction of the vestry, are as follows:
Brick Sewers
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27¾ miles.
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Pipe Sewers
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7⅙ ,,
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Open Sewers
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1¾ ,,
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The open sewers are not in closely populated districts, but
chiefly in that portion of the parish at present under
cultivation as grass land or market gardens.
The Vestry have lowered the crown of sewer in
New-street, to a length of 320-ft., have reconstructed a length
of 42-ft. 2-in., by 2-ft. 6-in. sewer in Charles’-mews;
have laid down a length of 115 ft. of pipe sewer in King-street;
and 140-ft. of 12-in. pipe in Sloane-place, in lieu of the old
dilapidated brick drain. These Sewers have enabled owners
to drain their several premises.
There have been 45 new Gulleys constructed for carrying off
the surface water from the roads, and many altered, repaired, and
cleaned. Air shafts have been formed for carrying off the
poisonous Gases from the Sewers; and many Gulleys have been
trapped.
The flushers have cleansed about 8 miles 3482-ft. of brick
sewer, removing deposits therein, varying from 6 inches to 2-ft.
which deposits have been carted away, and have also flushed with
water from time to time pipe sewers to an extent of 7½
miles.
232 Applications have been made and granted to drain houses
and premises both voluntarily and in consequence of notices
issued by the vestry, and in all cases where cesspools have
existed they have been filled in or broken up.
The following Sewers have been constructed by owners of
property, in the various under-mentioned places, viz.:
670-ft. 2-ft. barrel sewer in the Campden-hill Road.
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1400-ft. 4-ft. 6-in. by 2-ft. 6-in., 1 brick—with
brick invert, in cement, in the Holland-road.
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450-ft. 3-ft. by 2-ft. 6-in., ½ brick—in
cement, with stoneware invert in Addison-crescent.
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59-ft. 12-in. pipe in Johnson-street, Notting-hill.
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400-ft. 3-ft. by 2-ft., in an intended road, Old
Brompton.
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35-ft. 3-ft. 9-in. by 2-ft. 6-in., High-street,
Notting-hill.
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3000-ft. 3-ft. by 2-ft., on the Phillimore Estate.
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And 216-ft. of 12-in. pipe, in Brompton-road, opposite
York-cottages, has also been completed.
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These works have been done under the personal inspection of
Mr. Perkins, your Clerk of the Works, appointed for that
purpose.