Seventeenth Century
Hugh Myddleton was the driving force behind the construction of the New River, an ambitious engineering project to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire to 17th century London. After the initial project encountered financial difficulties, Myddleton helped fund the project through to completion. The New River was constructed between 1609 and 1613 (being officially opened on 29 September that year), and was originally some 38 miles (60 km) long. It was not initially a financial success, and cost Myddleton substantial sums, although in 1612 he was successful in securing monetary assistance from King James I. The New River Company became one of the largest private water companies, supplying the City of London and other central areas.
The construction of London's current water distribution infrastructure dates back to the Great Fire of London in 1666, which destroyed most of the city's previous water infrastructure, most of which was made of wood and lead. One waterworks not affected by the fire was at Shadwell which dated from 1660. The city's water supply and distribution infrastructure has been continuously updated and upgraded since then.
Read more about this topic: London Water Infrastructure
Famous quotes related to seventeenth century:
“The general feeling was, and for a long time remained, that one had several children in order to keep just a few. As late as the seventeenth century . . . people could not allow themselves to become too attached to something that was regarded as a probable loss. This is the reason for certain remarks which shock our present-day sensibility, such as Montaigne’s observation, ‘I have lost two or three children in their infancy, not without regret, but without great sorrow.’”
—Philippe Ariés (20th century)
“It is as if, to every period of history, there corresponded a privileged age and a particular division of human life: ‘youth’ is the privileged age of the seventeenth century, childhood of the nineteenth, adolescence of the twentieth.”
—Philippe Ariés (20th century)
“Nothing in medieval dress distinguished the child from the adult. In the seventeenth century, however, the child, or at least the child of quality, whether noble or middle-class, ceased to be dressed like the grown-up. This is the essential point: henceforth he had an outfit reserved for his age group, which set him apart from the adults. These can be seen from the first glance at any of the numerous child portraits painted at the beginning of the seventeenth century.”
—Philippe Ariés (20th century)