Major Display on London's Water Supply Story & History

We are planning for a major new display on the history of London's water supply which will cover nearly 2000 years, from the time of the Roman occupation, through to the present day and the challenges to be met in the future. We want the story to bring our historic water works setting to life and explain to the public how our buildings and machinery once formed part of a much wider system spead across London, which continues to be used and developed to this day.

Using images, sound, interactives, models and high quality displays we hope to show some of the stories, history and wonders of this hidden world and how they linked in with the people of the local area and beyond in a fun, imaginative and informative way.

Separate exhibition modules will cover various facets of the history, industry and technology used and explain how they have affected the lives of Londoners in various ways, good and bad over time. Learn about how and why we need to pump water and have a go for yourself. Understand where it comes from, how it is filtered and 'cleaned' and how it is distributed. What happens to it when it goes down the sink and why is it important to be careful about how much you use. See how in the past your postcode may have decided whether you lived or died, how your water was pumped by animals, and how a 'regular bath' was often just once a month or even longer. Find out how now forgotten engineers made your water safe to drink and saved millions of lives as a result.