The Story of the Parish Pump

By Tony Mitchell

Parts of Uxbridge benefited from a supply of water from as early as 1701, when John Yarnold constructed a waterworks to provide water from the River Colne through wooden pipes. Those who could afford it connected lead pipes from their homes into his wooden pipes, and were charged £1 a year for the supply. It was supplied to one part of the town in the morning, and the other part in the afternoon – and vice versa the next day. John Yarnold had a 99 year lease from the Lords of the Manor and Borough of such parts of the waste land as were necessary to lay the pipes. He paid an annual rent of 40 shillings and one couple of fat capons.

About 90 years later, in May 1793, the first sod was cut on Uxbridge Moor for the Grand Junction Canal. This was to be an important development for the town, and after just 18 months construction, the stretch linking Uxbridge to Brentford and the River Thames was opened in November, 1794. The canal increased the importance of corn to Uxbridge, and resulted in wharves and warehouses being built along the canal. By 1799, nearly 10,000 tons of corn were carried each year between the Thames and Uxbridge, for milling in the town. The milling industry in the town thrived.

But the route of the canal lay between the River Colne and the town. The Canal Act passed on 30 April, 1793, made special provision for protection of water supplies to Uxbridge and Hillingdon during the construction of the Grand Junction Canal. Section 45 of the Act stated that no injury was to be done to the pipes and aqueducts used for supplying Uxbridge and Hillingdon with water. It was enacted that the Canal Company should take effectual means to prevent any injury or destruction of the said pipes, and that, in the event of damage whereby the proprietor of the local waterworks should suffer loss or damage, the Canal Company should give the owner full compensation for any such loss or damage, and effect any necessary repairs at their own expense within 7 days of being called upon to do so. Considerable damage was done, and compensation was paid. But the waterworks were so seriously damaged that they could not be repaired, and the town’s water supply ceased altogether in 1799. So the town was without a supply of clean water. For a while, horse-drawn water carts were used, bringing water from the River Colne into the town. But this was not practicable in the longer term, and it was decided to dig wells. In 1800, two deep wells were dug to provide water for the town’s inhabitants, and others were dug privately. By 1830 there were four public pumps operating.

One of the public pumps was against the wall of St Margaret’s church. Right up to the1930s, the pump was a rallying point for meetings, including those for Mosley’s ‘blackshirts’. It was also used as a meeting point for people exchanging local gossip. In later years it was no longer required, but stayed in place until it was removed in the 1930s because it was deemed a traffic hazard – I think people standing in the road were the traffic hazard, rather than the pump itself. About 50 years later, members of the Hillingdon Conservation Area panel found the pump in a council depot in Northwood Hills. There were many vain attempts to restore it to its position in Windsor Street. Eventually, in June, 1981, it was returned after St Margaret’s Parish Church kindly agreed to it being erected alongside the church by the council’s Works Department. It is still there today, but without a supply of water.