Sutton and East Surrey Water plc , trading as SES Water , is the UK water supply company to its designated area of east Surrey , West Sussex , west Kent and south London serving in excess of 282,000 homes and businesses and a population of approximately 675,000 people.
129-467: An area of 322 square miles (830 km), extending from Morden and South Croydon in the north to Gatwick Airport in the south, and from Cobham and Dorking in the west to Edenbridge and Bough Beech in the east forms the company's supply area. Sutton and East Surrey Water (trading as SES Water since 2017) is a public limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 2447875, that
258-408: A Local Nature Reserve . The Mole Gap forms part of a Special Area of Conservation and is an SSSI of European importance. The river has captured the imagination of several authors and poets , particularly since in very hot summers the river channel can become dry between Dorking and Leatherhead, most recently in 2022. In John Speed 's 1611 map of Surrey, this stretch of the river is denoted by
387-576: A Special Area of Conservation and is an SSSI of European importance. The stretch of river between Thorncroft Manor (1 km [0.6 mi] south of Leatherhead ) and River Lane in Fetcham has been designated a Local Nature Reserve. Although much of the surrounding land has been taken by residential and commercial development, this section of the Mole supports 20 different mammal species, 20 butterfly species and 15 species of dragonfly . The geology of
516-571: A Grand Imperial Ship Canal from Deptford to Chichester passing through the Mole Gap, however he was unable to attract sufficient financial interest in his scheme. Today the Mole is navigable for the 400 m (440 yd) from the confluence with the River Thames to Molember Weir at East Molesey where there is a private mooring facility. The river may be paddled all year by canoe between Brockham and Fetcham with an appropriate licence from
645-507: A company was dissolved on 4 November 1960. Dorking museum have several documents relating to the early waterworks, including records connected with a sale of the waterworks, dating from 1848, sale of the public waterworks dating from 1850, seven maps of Dorking at 1:500 scale showing the network of water mains dating from 1868-1870, and a poster advertising the sale of machinery from the Old Waterworks dating from 1878. East Surrey Water built
774-498: A diverse fish population, including chub, dace, roach, bleak , large pike and barbel. At the confluence of the Mole and the River Thames at Hampton Court Palace it is possible to catch a wide variety of coarse fish species. The geographical distribution of many species of invertebrate in the river reflects the geology of the catchment area. Viviparid snails and water scorpions (of the genus Nepidae ) are commonly found where
903-643: A flat-bottomed dug-out canoe were found at the confluence of the Mole and Thames in 1877 by a local boatman. The canoe is preserved at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford . The Mole Gap and North Downs do not appear to have been settled until the late Stone Age: A large axe, typical of a "rough-out" axe produced during the Neolithic period, which was discovered in 1952 during building work in Westhumble, A flint mine of
1032-482: A full Act of Parliament . The new legislation meant that the powers of such companies were standardised. Sutton and East Surrey Water has been formed by a number of mergers and takeovers of these smaller companies. The development of a public water supply in the Sutton and East Surrey area can be traced back to 1859, when a small housing development took place on Caterham Hill. The builder, a Mr Drew, thought he would enhance
1161-497: A further upgrade to Bough Beech works, increasing its capacity from 55 Mld to 70 Mld, and installing the final two trunk mains. Despite its business name remaining Sutton and East Surrey Water plc, the company began trading as SES Water in February 2017. [REDACTED] 51°14′46″N 0°09′59″W / 51.246050°N 0.166255°W / 51.246050; -0.166255 ( SES Water ) Morden Morden
1290-627: A gravel spawning area to encourage chub and dace in addition to roach . In 1974 zander , a non-indigenous coarse fish native to Europe, were introduced legally to Old Bury Hill Lake which supplies the Pipp Brook. Zander have been caught in the Lower Mole below Dorking since the 1980s. In the Mole Gap between Dorking and Leatherhead the river supports populations of chub, dace, barbel , and brown trout. Both barbel and brown trout are extremely sensitive to water quality and pollution. Below Leatherhead
1419-462: A large adjoining library. At around the same time, Morden Underground Station, originally a single storey building, with shops, had three-storey office accommodation incorporated above it. A further office building with a large supermarket (now a Sainsbury's ) at ground-floor level was built in the 1980s at the other end of the town centre. The cinema and adjoining garage were demolished and replaced by shops some years ago. Morden plays host to
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#17330847138491548-588: A little of the earlier rural nature of Morden has survived; for instance several grand period buildings remain, especially within Morden's parks. The area retains a good provision of parks and green spaces, many of them created from former country estates. The 125-acre (51 ha) Morden Hall Park is of particular note and is run by the National Trust (see below). Its main entrance is only 0.25 miles (0.40 km) from Morden Underground Station. The largest building in
1677-416: A lower flood plain, which broadens as the river turns in an axehead meander. At the east end of Painshill Park, the flood plain narrows into a trench about 60 m (66 yd) wide, in which the river runs northwards for 6.5 km (4.0 mi) towards Hersham, where the river enters the flood plain of the River Thames. Between Cobham and Esher, the Mole's historic courses have deposited gravel on top of
1806-503: A more formal Order was obtained from the Ministry of Health in 1921, the charges were 6.6 per cent lower than the temporarily order allowed. In 1929, East Surrey Water presented a Bill to Parliament which would allow them to take over Chelsham and Woldingham Water and Limpsfield and Oxted Water. While the Limpsfield and Oxted Water Company was to be dissolved, they retained an option to alter
1935-866: A new building on London Road on 2000. It is responsible for water supply to an area of 322 square miles (835 km), providing this service to a population of 655,000 and to some 17,000 businesses, including Gatwick Airport . It produces around 35 million imperial gallons (160 Ml) of treated water per day, which it delivers through 2,100 miles (3,400 km) of water mains. In order to achieve this, it maintains 31 operation service reservoirs and water towers, 23 pumping stations, eight treatment works, and has one surface reservoir, at Bough Beech , near Edenbridge, Kent . The treatment works are at Cheam, Elmer (near Leatherhead), Cliftons Lane in Reigate, Woodmansterne, Kenley, Godstone, Westwood (Clacket Lane, Tatsfield parish ) and Bough Beech. In October 2021 consumers supplied by
2064-566: A new pipeline from reservoir 2 to reservoir 3. Among the miscellaneous provisions were the right to "break up and interfere with" streets, roads, lanes, bridges and other places, in order to install water mains. The company was renamed, becoming Sutton District Water. They obtained a second Act of Parliament in 1887, which allowed them to increase their capital by issuing more shares, and to supply water in bulk to various types of authorities and companies, which were not necessarily within their area of supply. In order to facilitate this, they were granted
2193-419: A new works on Beech Close in 1965, with pumping controlled by electric motors, and diesel generators to maintain operations during a power cut. In 1968, East Surrey Water finished building their only surface water reservoir, at Bough Beech. A dam, around 0.5 miles (0.80 km) long was built at its southern end, to create a reservoir which is about 1.25 miles (2.01 km) long. Five small streams flow through
2322-594: A north-easterly direction via Richmond to meet the proto-Thames near Ware in Hertfordshire . Today the Mole and Wey are less than 2 km (1.2 mi) apart at their closest point near Painshill Park. During the Middle Pleistocene period, a large ice sheet built up across much of the East of England, reaching as far south as St Albans and Chelmsford , blocking the path of the proto-Thames. Glacial meltwater from
2451-591: A number of buildings and parks worthy of note including: Morden has a Non-League football club Tooting & Mitcham United F.C. who play at Imperial Fields. Nearest tube station: Nearest railway stations and tramlink stops (in order of proximity): The local day and night buses that serve Morden are: River Mole The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England . It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows north-west through Surrey for 80 km (50 miles) to
2580-512: A number of villages, but their water supplies were inadequate, and they looked to find other sources. A little to the north, the Kenley Water Company had several wells, but the area between Caterham and Purley was at the time sparsely populated, and so there were few customers for the water. Following discussions between them, there was an informal amalgamation in 1881. Parliament sanctioned an extension of their area of supply southwards to
2709-406: A public water supply from 1738, when a waterworks was built by Resta Patching, a local Quaker . The works was close to Pipp Brook , accessible from Church Street, and drew water from a spring. Pumps were operated by the flow of the brook, but because the water had to be paid for, not all of the residents were happy. The spring became polluted in the mid-nineteenth century, and the works closed. There
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#17330847138492838-526: A school. The other main public house in the village was the Crown Inn, located to the north east of the village with a small cluster of cottages on Crown Road. The rest of what is now the commercial centre of Morden was fields. In the late 19th century the principal industry remained agriculture, although some industrial activity did exist along the River Wandle where watermills ground tobacco to snuff and
2967-446: A series of hills accompanied by the legend "The river runneth under". However the river's name is unlikely to have derived from this behaviour: The Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names suggests that Mole either comes from the Latin mola (a mill) or is a back-formation from Molesey (Mul's island). Domesday Book lists twenty mills on the river in 1086, of which Sidlow Mill
3096-495: A series of water mains within the parish of Sutton . They obtained the water from wells dug into the underlying chalk aquifer. In 1871, they promoted a bill to dissolve the company, and to re-incorporate it, either with the same or a different name. The new company would be responsible for supplying potable water to Banstead , Beddington , Carshalton , Cheam , Cuddington , Ewell , Morden , Sutton, Wallington and Woodmansterne . The principal works which they already owned were
3225-537: A small lake at Baldhorns Park, before running eastwards through a largely rural area towards Crawley. The first tributaries to join the young river drain the northernmost part of St Leonard's Forest , between Horsham and Crawley, although much of the forest is in the catchment area of the River Arun . The Mole skirts the northern suburbs of Crawley where it is joined by its first major tributary, Ifield Brook, which drains Ifield Mill Pond . The first gauging station on
3354-467: A smaller 50-metre (160 ft) cliff at Ham Bank in Norbury Park . The sudden change from impermeable Weald Clay to permeable chalk and the increased gradient of the river, allow the water table to drop below the bed of the river. Water is therefore able to flow out of the river through swallow holes in the bed and banks, decreasing the volume of water carried in the main channel. The course of
3483-459: A survey in 1958, the geologist C. C. Fagg identified 25 active swallow holes between Dorking and Mickleham ; the majority were only a few centimetres in diameter and were located in the vertical banks of the river below the water line. Most holes were difficult to observe in times of normal or heavy flow and were susceptible to silting up as new holes were continually being formed. A few much larger swallow holes were also observed separated from
3612-654: A varnish works existed close to the site of Poplar Primary School. By 1898, the varnish works had gone and there was a brickworks on the site of Mostyn Gardens in Martin Way (then called Green Lane). Under the Local Government Act, 1894 , the parish of Morden formed part of the Croydon Rural District of Surrey . The first two decades of the 20th century saw little change in the village, with industry still mainly agricultural in nature; however, development in
3741-418: A well with a pumping station and other works in Sutton, a reservoir (designated number 1) in Sutton, a second reservoir (designated number 2) on Banstead common, pipework connecting the pumping station to reservoir 1, and pipework connecting reservoir 1 to reservoir 2. The Act empowered them to build reservoir number 3 at Banstead, to duplicate the pipework from the pumping station to reservoir 1, and to construct
3870-475: A £380mn deal. Surrey has few surface water sources, but two major aquifers, one of chalk and the other of Lower Greensand , across the county from east to west. To the north of SES Water's area, the chalk appears as outcrops from the tertiary beds which lie on top of it, and there are springs at the Bookhams, Fetcham, Leatherhead and Sutton as a consequence. Further south, the aquifers are reached by wells, with
3999-492: Is a "charming Surrey steam" and "If Lord Lytton went to fish in the River Mole – and there are still angling clubs there – he would find that he would still be able to catch a trout ". Highly polluting discharges have become less common but have taken place since 2000. In 2003, Gatwick Airport Ltd pleaded guilty to charges of allowing chemical pollution to enter the River Mole after a detergent, used to clean rubber and oil from
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4128-506: Is a building on the site of the works, which contains part of one of the original pumps in its cellar, and carries a plaque stating "R P Waterworks erected 1738", but the building itself, which is Grade II listed , dates from the nineteenth century. The Dorking Water Company was formally established in 1869, following the passing of the Dorking Water Act 1869. They dug a 300-foot (91 m) well on Harrow Road East. A steam-driven pump
4257-542: Is a district and town in South London, England, now within the London Borough of Merton , in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester Park to the west, and is around 8 miles (13 km) south-southwest of Charing Cross . Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, for local government purposes, Morden
4386-574: Is also found along the river, and the downy emerald ( Cordulia aenea ) is found between Box Hill and Leatherhead. The Mole is one of only three locations in England where the river shingle beetle ( Meotica anglica ) is found. A nationally scarce species which is locally common on the River Mole is the greater dodder ( Cuscuta europaea ), a parasitic plant . The Mole catchment area includes twelve Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that include wetland habitats, The Mole Gap forms part of
4515-758: Is first recorded in the Red Book of Thorney in AD 983 as Emen and in the AD 1005 Cartulary of the Abbey of Eynsham as both Emen and Æmen . Variations in the name are recorded throughout the Middle Ages and the river appears as Amele in the Domesday Book of 1086, and subsequently as Emele in 12th- and 13th-century Court Rolls. This name is probably derived from the Old English word æmen meaning misty or causing mists , and
4644-565: Is measured at a fourth gauging station, located at Castle Mill (39 m [128 ft] above OD). At Pixham the Mole meets the Pipp Brook , a tributary draining the northeastern slopes of Leith Hill. Between Dorking and Leatherhead the Mole cuts a steep-sided valley (the Mole Gap) though the North Downs , carving a 170-metre-high (560 ft) river cliff on the western flank of Box Hill and
4773-654: Is not Stock Exchange Listed, and is East Surrey Water plc renamed following a 1996 merger. In 2013, the Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp. acquired Summit Water UK Ltd, the holding company of Sutton and East Surrey Water plc for £164.5m. Later in the year Sumitomo sold half of the holding in Summit Water to Osaka Gas Co., with the joint venture being renamed as Sumisho Osaka Gas Water UK Ltd. In January 2024, Pennon Group (who also own South West Water, Bristol Water and Bournemouth Water) acquired SES Water from Sumitomo Corp. in
4902-686: Is used. In common with much of the rest of the Weald, the earliest evidence of human settlement along the Upper Mole is from the Mesolithic Period (20,000–7000 BC). Mesolithic sites at Wonham, Flanchford and Sidlow. Finds at Wonham include arrowheads and a plano-convex knife. The Lower Mole appears to have been settled during the same period and a flint axe dating from Mesolithic period found on spit of land close to River Mole in Cobham in 1965. Remains of
5031-671: The British Canoe Union . During the Second World War several sites along the course of the Mole were fortified for the defence of London against invasion from the south. GHQ Line B ran along the North Downs from Farnham and Guildford, crossing the Mole Gap to the north of Dorking and following the river to Horley. Between Betchworth and Box Hill, the north bank of the River Mole was stabilised and made steeper to prevent wheeled vehicles from crossing. At Boxhill Farm, where access to
5160-525: The Island Barn Reservoir near Molesey : the northern (and smaller) branch continues as the River Mole and the southern branch is known as the River Ember . The two rivers flow either side of the reservoir, before running side by side in a northeasterly direction, merging 400 m (440 yd) before the confluence with the River Thames, on the reach above Teddington Lock . (For the purposes of
5289-480: The London Underground 's Northern Line ), that the fast and direct route to Central London opened up the village for residential development. To complement the new tube station, a garage was constructed on the other side of London Road, adjacent to the railway cutting and, in 1932, Morden Cinema was built next to it on the corner of Aberconway Road. Around the station, which, itself, had several shops built into
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5418-530: The Thames at Hampton Court Palace . The river gives its name to the Surrey district of Mole Valley . The Mole crosses the North Downs between Dorking and Leatherhead , where it cuts a steep-sided valley, known as the Mole Gap, through the chalk. Much of the catchment area lies on impermeable rock (including Weald Clay and London Clay ), meaning that the river level responds rapidly to heavy rainfall. During
5547-467: The Wey Gap is significantly higher than might be expected from natural rainwater percolation alone. It has been suggested that a proportion of the excess water originates from the Mole Gap. At Leatherhead the river leaves the chalk bedrock, moving onto London Clay . The river meanders across an alluvial plain between 400 and 800 m (440–870 yd) wide towards Cobham, where it begins to descend to
5676-515: The 1930s, next to the original Waterway Road works, which was equipped with diesel pumps to transfer the water to the new Elmer Works on Hawks Hill. Diesel engines were subsequently replaced by electric motors. Elmer Works is labelled a water softening works on the 1935 Ordnance Survey map. The source of water for the Leatherhead pumping station is still a series of ten artesian wells near the millpond at Fetcham. The Limpsfield and Oxted Water Company
5805-694: The Anglian ice sheet caused the Thames to divert southwards and flood the valley of the Mole–Wey river, thus adopting its present route through London . Standard water quality of Mole and its tributaries has improved markedly since the 1990s. In 1990 the Environment Agency assessed 23% of the watercourses as Grade B (good) or better. In 2002 this figure was 60%. Investment in the Sewage Treatment Works in
5934-590: The Board of Trade in 1910 for an Order to allow them to extend their area of supply to include Kingswood. Specific mention was made of two existing pipelines supplying the area, and authorisation for the construction of a third, to a new water tower in Kingswood, was obtained. There was also a general provision to enable them to alter some or all of the provisions of the Acts they had obtained in 1871, 1887, 1903 and 1906. The water tower
6063-458: The Earlswood Brook. From Sidlow, the Mole turns northwest towards Brockham . A number of minor tributaries join the river from the west and are typically second order streams draining the woodland and arable land between Horsham and Dorking. The 18th-century weir at Betchworth was modified in 2004 to facilitate the installation of two 27.5 kW low-head hydro turbines . About 90% of
6192-722: The Garth family arms and the fret from the arms of Merton Priory . The motto, "In Libertate Vis" , means "Our Strength is our Freedom" . In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963 , the Merton and Morden Urban District Council was abolished and its area combined with that of the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Municipal Borough of Mitcham to form the present-day London Borough of Merton. It then became part of London and not Surrey any more. Despite London's suburban expansion,
6321-588: The LCC. The estate was, at the time, the largest local authority development in South London and has its road names arranged in alphabetical order, from the North-West corner ( Abbotsbury Road) to the South-East corner ( Woburn Road). Reflecting the previous ownership of the land by Westminster Abbey , all are named after religious establishments. In 1943, the council was granted a civic coat-of-arms incorporating lions from
6450-487: The London Clay. The depth of the deposits generally varies from 2.5 to 7 m (8–23 ft); the lower layers are generally highly compacted and cemented together with brick-red iron oxide, whereas the upper layers are loosely packed with angular flints and sand. Remains of a further gravel terrace, containing cherts and flints to a depth of 4 m (13 ft), line the east side of St George's Hill . The river
6579-586: The Mole catchment is located on the Gatwick Stream 3 km (1.9 mi) upstream of the confluence with the Mole: Crawley STW discharges 15,000 m (530,000 cu ft) of water per day, and in prolonged dry periods it accounts for up to 75% of the flow of the Mole downstream of the confluence. The mean flow measured at Horley gauging station (52 m [171 ft] above OD) is 1.40 m /s (49 cu ft/s). The Mole passes Horley to
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#17330847138496708-417: The Mole is south of Gatwick Airport (57 m [187 ft] above OD ). The mean flow is 0.33 m /s (12 cu ft/s) and the river ran dry at this point for the first time in the summer of 1995. The Mole runs under the airport runway in a culvert completed in 1985. The course of the Mole within the airport perimeter has been altered several times since commercial flights began in 1945; however
6837-412: The Mole leaves the chalk and turns northwestwards to flow across impermeable London Clay , winding towards Cobham. The water table rises at this point and much of the water which drained out of the channel through the chalk returns through springs in the riverbed. The aquifer at Fetcham is the only one in the entire catchment area. The next major tributary, The Rye , (which drains Ashtead ) joins to
6966-407: The Mole was used for navigation in the past: In the late 13th century, Thorncroft Manor (south of Leatherhead) purchased a shout , a type of boat up to 16 metres (52 ft) in length used to carry produce to market and it has been suggested that stone cut from quarries in Reigate was transported to London via the river. During the 17th century, two bills came before parliament to make sections of
7095-579: The Moor". Human activity in Morden dates back to the Iron Age period when Celtic tribes are known to have occupied areas around Wimbledon , but the first significant development in Morden was the construction of the Roman road called Stane Street from Chichester to London. The route of Stane Street through Morden followed the current A24 , London Road up Stonecot Hill from the south west crossing Morden Park to
7224-410: The River Mole in 2019: The marsh frog ( Pelophylax ridibundus , a non-native species introduced from Europe in the 1930s) is now commonly found in the upper Mole and its tributaries around Newdigate and Gatwick. There is no evidence that the presence of the frogs has had a deleterious effect on indigenous amphibians. A second non-native species, the edible frog ( Pelophylax kl. esculentus )
7353-548: The Sussex border in 1884, and in 1885, the companies merged to become the East Surrey Water company. They continued to expand, taking over a number of smaller water supply companies. Reigate Water Works Company had been established in 1858 to serve the population of Reigate , and in 1896, opted to sell its assets to East Surrey Water. The Corporation of Reigate were unaware of this, and when they learned of it, attempted to delay
7482-585: The Westwood treatment works (properties in and around Oxted ) were warned to boil all drinking water because of contamination by E.coli . Sutton and East Surrey Water are undertaking a series of major improvements, to ensure that all properties can be supplied with water from more than one works. This is being achieved in three stages, corresponding to the Asset Management Plan (AMP) funding periods for UK water companies. Under AMP5, which covers 2010 to 2015,
7611-506: The adjacent works has included a purpose-built education centre, which is used by large numbers of school children, and the educational programme has been awarded a Quality Badge by the Department for Education 's learning outside the classroom scheme. In a quite separate development, the Sutton and Cheam Water Company was established in 1863, with offices on Carshalton Road. They built a reservoir where Ventnor Road meets Brighton Road, and laid
7740-536: The aims and objectives of the Chelsham and Woldingham Water Company, and for it to continue. The Act extended their jurisdiction, enabling them to supply water to Chiddingstone , Hever , parts of Brasted and Penshurst , all in Kent, and Hartfield in Sussex. Following these takeovers, they had 250,000 customers, supplying them with around 6 million imperial gallons (27 Ml) of treated water per day. Dorking has had
7869-496: The area already serviced by Limpsfield and Oxted Water. At the time they operated a borehole and pumping station in Chelsham, together with a tank and covered reservoir in Woldingham. The Order stated that the supply of water did not have to be constant, and that there was no requirement to supply it at a pressure greater than could be obtained by gravitation. The company obtained an Order to temporarily increase charges in 1920, but when
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#17330847138497998-641: The area although there is no evidence of any settlement. Ethelstan the Etheling, son of Ethelred the Unready , left "land at Mordune" to the abbey of Christ and St. Peter in his will of 1015, which became the site of the first Saxon parish church of St Lawrence . In 1086, the Domesday Book recorded the manor as Mordone , part of Wallington Hundred . It was held by Westminster Abbey and its assets were: 3 hides ; 1 mill worth £2 and 7 ploughs . It rendered £15 in total. Fourteen people were recorded as living in
8127-538: The area and into the reservoir, but this only accounts for one fifth of the water supply. The rest is pumped from the River Eden from an abstraction point at Chiddingstone , generally during the winter months. Some 50 acres (20 ha) at the northern end are set aside as a nature reserve, which is managed by the Kent Ornithological Society, while the southern end is used for fishing and sailing. Since 1999,
8256-638: The area. The manor and village remained abbey property until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in Henry VIII 's reign when the manor was sold to Lionel Ducket and Edward Whitchurch. Together, they sold it on the following year to Sir Richard Garth who became Lord of the Manor . The Garth family owned the land and maintained their connection with the parish for the next four centuries, living at Morden Hall Park until
8385-422: The bed and banks. The amount of water lost from the river is significant and in very hot summers the channel can become dry between Mickleham and Thorncroft Manor; this was recorded most recently in 1949, 1976 and 2022. At Leatherhead , the river leaves the chalk and flows across impermeable London Clay . At this point, the water table rises enough for the water to flow back into the main river channel. In
8514-504: The building, a new adjacent commercial centre grew quickly as shops sprang up along London Road and Crown Lane, including a rebuilt and enlarged Crown Inn public house (opened in 1932) and a large Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS) department store (opened in 1940). Away from the new commercial centre of Morden, the existing rural roads were widened and rebuilt and the fields were rapidly divided into building plots and laid out for new housing. Further transport improvements came with
8643-413: The canalisation of a short stretch of the River Mole between Betchworth and Dorking to facilitate the movement of chalk from quarry to market. In 1810 the engineer John Rennie proposed a canal linking the River Medway to Portsmouth which was to have a branch to London following the Mole for much of its length. Between 1825 and 1828 the architect and civil engineer Nicholas Wilcox Cundy proposed
8772-579: The capacity of Bough Beech works was increased from 45 Mld (megalitres per day) to 55 Mld, and two new trunk mains were installed. This increased the proportion of the area of supply connected to two works from 11 per cent to 36 per cent. This will be further increased to 56 per cent under AMP6, covering 2015 to 2020, by increasing the capacity of Woodmansterne works from 35 Mld to 50 Mld, upgrading Woodmansterne pumping station, and installing another four trunk mains. During AMP7, covering 2020 to 2025, they hope to have all customers supplied by more than one works, by
8901-400: The catchment area has improved the quality of the discharges into the river, and modifications to the runway and apron drainage systems at Gatwick Airport mean that surface water is diverted to aerated pollution control lagoons and balancing ponds for treatments, including acid/alkali neutralisation, before release into the river. In 1972 a sub-debate on the future cleanliness of the Mole
9030-408: The construction of a new Southern Railway branch line from Wimbledon to Sutton via stations at South Merton and Morden South (so named to differentiate it from Morden Underground Station and Morden Road (now Morden Road tram stop), although it was actually North-East of the original village centre). The new line opened between January 1930 and 1933. As a result of the new train and bus links,
9159-431: The construction of wells and boreholes, together with a filtration plant and a softening plant on land they already owned in Cheam. From the works, a new pipeline led to a service reservoir on the east side of Cheam Warren. It included clauses to allow them to alter and vary the charges made, without the need for further Parliamentary sanction, thus fomalising the Order of 1919, to raise additional capital, and to alter any of
9288-526: The cutting at the south end of Box Hill & Westhumble railway station , suggesting that even in its early history, the river had swallow holes. The author Daniel Defoe , who attended school in Dorking and probably grew up in the village of Westhumble , described the swallow holes in the River Mole in his book A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain (first published in 1724): ...the current of
9417-474: The deepest wells used to extract water from the chalk aquifer. That at Polesden Lacey is 510 feet (155 m) deep. The area was initially served by a number of small water companies, each supplying water to its local population. The setting up of water companies was made easier by the Waterworks Clauses Act 1847, which enabled new companies to be created by obtaining a special Act, rather than needing
9546-523: The energy generated is fed into the regional electricity grid , while the remainder is used to supply the Betchworth Park Estate, where the weir is situated. The river leaves the Weald Clay at Brockham, passing Betchworth Castle and flowing briefly across greensand and Gault Clay to Pixham , 1 km (0.6 mi) northeast of Dorking . A mean flow of 3.74 m /s (132 cu ft/s)
9675-402: The entry to the Mole Gap. Above Meath Green (near Horley ), the terrace corresponds to the flood plain of the river, however from this point downstream to Brockham, the river cuts a narrow trench no more than 150 m (160 yd) wide. A similar trench is runs up several of the Mole's tributaries, notably along Deanoak Brook which follows a local strike . The presence of the trench protects
9804-447: The impermeable Weald Clay . From the source to Dorking , the river drains an area of 340 km (130 sq mi), of which approximately 60% is on Wealden or Atherfield Clay, 20% is on Tunbridge Wells Sand and 20% is on greensand . Brickearth deposits are common in the valley around Betchworth and east of Dorking. The upper Mole catchment is dominated by a single broad terrace, which runs continuously from Tilgate Forest to
9933-414: The land from flooding, rendering it suitable for agriculture . Between Dorking and Leatherhead the Mole cuts a steep-sided valley through the North Downs, creating a 170-metre-high (560 ft) river cliff on the western flank of Box Hill. The bedrock is permeable chalk and the water table lies permanently below the level of the riverbed, allowing water to drain out of the river through swallow holes in
10062-511: The land on which the existing works of the limited company were situated, which included two reservoirs (numbered 1 and 2), a pumping station, and a meter chamber, all of which were located in Limpsfield. The Act received Royal Assent on 24 July 1888. The company petitioned for another Act in 1902, to allow them to increase their share capital, to build another reservoir and a well or wells with an associated pumping station in Limpsfield, and to extend their area of supply to include Cowden in Kent. It
10191-523: The local area is complex, since the river leaves the chalk of the Mole Gap at this point and flows over gravel and clay, creating a patchwork of different habitats including scrub , woodland , hedges , banks, and meadows as well as the water itself. The river also provides a corridor for wildlife through the centre of Leatherhead. The West End Common forms part of the Esher Commons , owned and managed by Elmbridge Borough Council . The River Mole forms
10320-595: The main river by a channel of about a metre. About six of these larger swallow holes were found to the west of the Burford Bridge Hotel , along the course of the A24 Mickleham Bypass during its construction in 1936. Initially the surveyors tried to fill the holes with rubble to prevent the foundations of the new road subsiding. However this proved to be impractical and they were instead covered by concrete domes, up to 18 m in diameter, each fully supported by
10449-406: The manor was sold by another Sir Richard Garth in 1872. The prominence of the Garth family is recorded locally in the name of Garth Road, Lower Morden and the former Garth School. The two lions included in the present civic arms of the London Borough of Merton are adopted from the arms of Sir Richard. Despite the rapid suburban development of nearby Wimbledon occasioned by the arrival of
10578-464: The meanders visible on the 1839 tithe map in the 1.5 km (0.93 mi) stretch immediately north of the runway were reinstated in 1999, in a £1.2 million project to facilitate airport expansion. The Mole enters Surrey to the south of Horley, where it meets the Gatwick Stream , a tributary draining Worth Forest to the southeast of Crawley. The second-largest Sewage Treatment Works (STW) in
10707-609: The name of the River Ember probably has its origins in this name. The name Mole does not appear until the 16th century, first occurring as Moule in Harrison's Description of Britain of 1577. The antiquarian William Camden uses the Latinized form Molis in the 1586 edition of Britannia and Michael Drayton is the first to use Mole in his poem Poly-Olbion published in 1613. In John Speed 's 1611 map of Surrey this stretch of
10836-443: The new railways constructed in the mid 19th century, Morden remained a rural parish throughout the 19th century. While the population of Wimbledon grew hugely from 1,591 in 1801 to 41,652 in 1901, the population of Morden was 512 in 1801 and, one hundred years later, had grown to just 960. In 1871, the area of the parish of Morden was 1,474.926 acres (596.881 ha) with the small village clustered around St Lawrence's church at
10965-453: The north of Leatherhead, before the river is crossed by the M25 motorway . At Cobham the river swings round in a pronounced axehead meander skirting Painshill Landscape Garden , where a 11-metre (35 ft) diameter waterwheel raises water 5 metres (16 ft) from the river to feed the ornamental lake in the park. From Painshill Park the river flows northeastwards to the Thames, passing to
11094-404: The original buildings lasted until 1992, when they were demolished to make way for housing. Leatherhead became the next area to join East Surrey Water, when it was taken over in 1927. The enabling Act extended East Surrey Water's area of supply to include all of the area then supplied by Leatherhead and District Water, and also included the village of Effingham . A large pumping station was built in
11223-639: The parish of Merton to the north led to that area being removed from the rural district to form the Merton Urban District in 1907. Morden was merged with the Merton Urban District in 1913 to form the Merton and Morden Urban District . It was not until 1926, when Morden Underground station opened as the terminus of a new extension (from Clapham Common) of the City & South London Railway (now part of
11352-490: The parliamentary bill which would have formalised the deal. When this ploy failed, they tried to remove the town clerk from office, for his failure to notify the council of the deal. The town clerk was also a director of Reigate Water Works Company. Reigate Corporation also failed in this course of action, and so resorted to promoting a rival bill, which would have allowed them to alter the rates and charges that East Surrey Water could set. Their action caused widespread hostility in
11481-526: The population of Morden increased rapidly, from 1,355 in 1921 to 12,618 in 1931. In the next fifteen years, the population continued to grow, as most of the parish was covered in new suburban homes. One of the main residential developments in the 1930s was the St. Helier Estate, built by the London County Council (LCC) to house workers from Inner London and named in honour of Lady St. Helier, an alderman of
11610-418: The press, and a compromise was eventually reached, with East Surrey Water making small changes to the charges for baths and additional water closets. Expansion continued, with capital works including 26 miles (42 km) of new mains in 1900 and 23 miles (37 km) in 1901. This included a new trunk main from Kenley through Purley to Merstham in 1900 and another from Merstham to Nutfield in 1901. A new borehole
11739-584: The process of construction in the parishes of Chelsham and Woldingham, and to dissolve the company which owned them once they had been taken over. However, the Chelsham and Woldingham Waterworks Company Limited were still independent in 1910, when they applied to the Board of Trade , using the provisions of the Gas and Waterworks Facilities Act 1870, for an Order to allow them to continue providing water to Chelsham , Woldingham , and parts of Limpsfield, Oxted and Titsey, excluding
11868-627: The provisions of all of the previous Acts and Orders which governed their operation. The main purpose of an Act obtained in 1929 was to restructure the way in which the company was financed, and to allow them to raise additional capital. They also wanted to increase the amount of water they could abstract from the Cheam wells, by removing a provision of their 1921 Act. Other changes included a provision to collect water rates in advance, to allow them to supply water to "caravans, shacks, huts, tents" and other similar structures, and to charge for water by volume when it
11997-527: The remainder of this article, the River Mole and the River Ember are treated as a single entity.) Prior to the last ice age , the River Thames followed a more northerly route to the North Sea , from Reading via Marlow , Chorleywood , St Albans , Hertford and along the present Suffolk – Essex border. During this period, the Mole is thought to have merged with the River Wey near Byfleet and then flowed in
12126-491: The river navigable . The first, in 1663, was passed by the House of Commons but was defeated in the House of Lords . During the following year (1664), an act was passed by both Houses of Parliament to make the River Mole navigable from Reigate to the River Thames, but was never executed. The only Surrey river to have been made fully navigable is the combined lower section of the River Wey . In 1798 William Marshall advocated
12255-476: The river being much obstructed by the interposition of those hills, called Box Hill ... it forces the waters as it were to find their way through as well as they can; and in order to do this, beginning, I say, where the river comes close to the foot of the precipice of Box-Hill, called the Stomacher, the waters sink insensibly away, and in some places are to be seen (and I have seen them) little channels which go out on
12384-488: The river from the north bank was required for the herd of dairy cows, a row of twelve concrete cylinders were cast as an anti-tank measure. Gun mounts were also installed to protect both Boxhill and Deepdene bridges and several pillboxes were installed. An anti-tank ditch was dug from the Stepping Stones eastwards across the fields belonging to Bradley Farm (now Denbies vineyard ). The river crossing at Sidlow Bridge
12513-411: The river has historically supported larger predatory fish including chub, perch , pike , and eels, however in recent years chub and eel numbers have begun to decline. North of Esher the old river channel is dominated by floating pennywort , a highly invasive weed, which cuts off all light to the river bed, reducing oxygen levels and resulting in a poor habitat for fish. The Ember flood relief channel has
12642-401: The river is denoted by a series of hills accompanied by the legend "The river runneth under". However the river's name is unlikely to have derived from this behaviour: The Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names suggests that Mole either comes from the Latin mola (a mill) or is a back-formation from Molesey (Mul's island). In John Rocque 's 1768 map of Surrey, the name Moulsey River
12771-564: The river runs over the London Clay . Crayfish are common in areas associated with high alkalinity , particularly around Brockham, and the tributaries which run over the Weald Clay provide an excellent habitat for stoneflies , caddisflies , fast swimming mayflies and riffle beetles . The beautiful demoiselle ( Calopteryx virgo ) disappeared from the River Mole during the 1960s owing to deteriorating water quality, but has since recolonised. The white-legged damselfly ( Platycnemis pennipes )
12900-572: The river through Norbury Park was partially straightened when the Epsom to Horsham railway was built in 1837, with the removal of a small meander north of Westhumble . The meander was reinstated in 1997, in an attempt to enhance this area of the Park, although it has since become blocked by silt . The entirety of the Mole Gap lies within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . At Leatherhead,
13029-518: The runway, was washed into Crawters Brook by airport workers. The Environment Agency estimated that up to 5200 fish of 14 different species were killed as the pollution drained downstream. The airport was fined £30,000 by Lewes Crown Court . In May 2003, sewage leaking from a pump operated by Thames Water leaked into the Stanford Brook, killing coarse fish in the Gatwick stream. Water quality of
13158-477: The same period has been discovered at East Horsley along with Neolithic flakes of flint at Fetcham and Headley Heath . Significant Bronze Age finds include a bronze sword found close to the river north of Amberley Farm near Charlwood and a small hoard of weaponry consisting of two palstave axes and a scabbard chape was discovered in 2003 in Norbury Park close to Ham Bank. It is not clear to what extent
13287-718: The same powers to lay water mains in private roads as they held for public roads, and there was specific provision for the supply of water meters. Under the terms of the East Surrey Water Act 1896, there was some interchange of areas of supply between the two companies, particularly in Banstead, Kingswood and Ewell. Two further Acts were obtained in 1903 and 1906, the latter prohibiting the abstraction of water by any other company within Sutton District Water's area of supply, for sale outside of that area. They next applied to
13416-431: The second half of the 20th century, pollution levels in the river were high; however, since 1995 the water quality has improved dramatically and the Mole now boasts the greatest diversity of fish species of any river in England. Twelve Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that include wetland habitats are located within the Mole catchment area , and the stretch of river through Leatherhead has been designated
13545-488: The sides of the river, where the water in a stream not so big as would fill a pipe of a quarter of an inch diameter, trills away out of the river, and sinks insensibly into the ground. In this manner it goes away, lessening the stream for above a mile, near two, and these they call the Swallows. Not all of the water removed from the river by the swallow holes is returned to the channel at Leatherhead . The chalk aquifer also feeds
13674-548: The southwest of Dorking . There is only one aquifer in the drainage basin, at Fetcham , which means that the majority of the water in the river is from surface drainage, particularly from Gatwick Airport and the urban areas of Horley and Crawley, and that the flow rate responds rapidly to rainfall. The Mole rises in Baldhorns Copse 700 m (0.4 mi) to the south of the village of Rusper in West Sussex . It flows initially southwards for 1 km (0.6 mi) to
13803-503: The springs at the southern end of Fetcham Mill Pond, which have never been known to run dry. A survey in March 1883 estimated that the Fetcham springs were producing about 3.6 million imperial gallons (16,000 m ) every day. A second survey in 1948 estimated that the same springs were yielding about 5 million imperial gallons (23,000 m ) a day. The water table in the chalk of
13932-464: The surrounding chalk and provided with a manhole and access shaft to allow periodic inspection. In the late 1960s the domes were reopened and inspected and the alluvium in the largest swallow hole was observed to have subsided by 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) under the centre of one of the domes. When the Dorking to Leatherhead railway was constructed in 1859, a fossilised swallow hole was discovered in
14061-455: The top of the hill on the road from London to Epsom (now London Road/Epsom Road). Approximately 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.80 km) to the west of the main village and the grounds of Morden Park stood the hamlet of Lower Morden . Close to the church were the George Inn, a 17th-century coaching inn (now modernised and part of a national pub restaurant chain), the estate of Morden Park and
14190-419: The town centre is Crown House, sixties-built and 14 storeys tall; designed in 1959 by A. Green ARIBA and built between 1960 and 1962. The concaved frontage of the building lends it some distinction, as does the "chessboard" style juxtaposition of its light and dark facade features. It incorporated The Crown public house , on which site part of the building covered. The building is home to Merton Civic Centre and
14319-481: The value of the development by providing a water supply, so constructed a borehole and some short lengths of water main, together with a pumping engine. However, the costs of running the plant were higher than he had anticipated, and he found a group of businessmen who were keen to buy it. Following the opening of the London and Brighton Railway in 1841, a community had been established at "Red Hill" or Warwick Town, and as it
14448-585: The west bank of the Mole, west of the Island Barn Reservoir. The Heath is an area of rough scrubland and, despite its name, is a reclaimed landfill site hence its large but artificial mound and small plateau. The site is a rich habitat for birds including the redshank and little ringed plover . The Mole rises south of Rusper in West Sussex, where an outcrop of the Hastings Beds sandstone dips below
14577-454: The west of Esher Commons and then forming the boundary between Hersham and Esher , where the mean flow of the river is 5.43 m /s (192 cu ft/s). In response to heavy flooding of East Molesey and Thames Ditton in September 1968 , the river was modified downstream of Albany Bridge to the Thames and new flood defences were constructed. Finally the Mole splits into two branches at
14706-524: The west of Leatherhead . This was connected by a pipeline to two service reservoirs, both in Leatherhead, which were used to supply water to Leatherhead, Ashtead , Mickleham , Fetcham, Great Bookham , Little Bookham , Stoke D'Abernon , Church Cobham and Street Cobham, now both part of Cobham . The Act received the Royal Assent on 31 May 1883. They also drew water from a borehole in Waterway Road, where
14835-519: The west of the current dual carriageway road and passing through the pitch and putt golf course and the grounds of St Lawrence's Church . The road then descended the other side of the hill towards the town centre passing west of the Underground station and crossing the north corner of Morden Hall Park heading in the direction of Colliers Wood and Tooting . Small Roman artifacts , mainly coins and pottery, have been found at various locations within
14964-499: The west, flowing north towards Sidlow and entering a largely rural area. 0.7 km (0.4 mi) south of Sidlow the mean flow is measured as 2.21 m /s (78 cu ft/s) at Kinnersley Manor gauging station (48 m [157 ft] above OD). The Earlswood Brook, a tributary draining the urban area of Reigate and Redhill , joins the Mole at Sidlow. The largest STW in the Mole catchment (Reigate STW) discharges up to 118,500 m (4,180,000 cu ft) per day into
15093-458: The western boundary of the common, flowing past a steep sandy area known locally as The Ledges . Plant species typical of ancient woodland are found in this area, including bluebells ( Hyacinthoides non-scriptus ), marsh marigolds ( Caltha palustris ) and golden saxifrages ( Chrysosplenium sp.). large bittercress ( Cardamine amara ) and the non-native Himalayan balsam ( Impatiens glandulifera ). Molesey Heath Local Nature Reserve lies on
15222-513: Was built in Purley in both years, and the company attracted 758 new consumers in 1900 and 551 in 1901. Leatherhead and District Water had been established in 1883, when an Act of Parliament was granted which created the company, and authorised them to build wells and a pumping station on land close to the River Mole and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway , in the parish of Fetcham , just to
15351-417: Was built on Tower Road, Tadworth , and enabled them to supply Tadworth and the higher parts of Banstead. When it became surplus to requirements, the water tank was removed from the top and it was converted into a house. Another Act of Parliament was obtained in 1915, and a Board of Trade Order to temporarily increase charges for the water supplied in 1919. In 1921, they obtained a further Act, which authorised
15480-596: Was formally established by an Act of Parliament in 1888, but was not the first company to supply water to that area, since the Act gave powers to dissolve a limited company with the same name, and to incorporate the shareholders into a new company. The new company could supply water for public and private use to the villages of Limpsfield , Oxted , Titsey , Tatsfield , Edenbridge and parts of Westerham . They were empowered to build two new reservoirs (numbered 3 and 4), both located in Limpsfield, and several pipelines, and to purchase
15609-570: Was granted on 23 June 1902. The company had maintained their charges at the same level since incorporation in 1888, but applied for an Act of Parliament in 1921 to increase charges by one third. The origins of the Chelsham and Woldingham Water Company are a little more difficult to trace. In 1884 the Caterham Spring Water Company presented a Bill which would give them powers to take over various water works which already existed or were in
15738-513: Was growing fast, the businessmen were keen to supply it with water. They obtained a special Act in 1852, which established the Caterham Spring Water Company , with a mandate to supply drinking water to Bletchingley , Caterham , Chaldon , Coulsdon , Earlswood , Godstone , Nutfield , Redhill , Reigate and Warlingham . Despite early struggles, the company developed, and by 1880 were supplying water to two-thirds of Redhill and
15867-531: Was had by the House of Lords , involving a member of the South-East Strategic Committee of the Thames Conservancy (succeeded by the Environment Agency ) and four others. In this it was said, "...I can see no future for [The Mole]. The Mole Valley has been polluted. The Mole where I used to tickle trout in my youth is a drain, and it will remain a drain." Rebuttals included that the Mole
15996-457: Was heavily defended and a line of pill boxes was constructed on the north bank of the river. Concrete anti-tank dragon's teeth were built on both sides of the river, a short distance upstream of the bridge, as an obstacle to armoured vehicles . The North Downs Way crosses the river at Box Hill via seventeen hexagonal stepping stones , which are frequently submerged after heavy rainfall. The current stones were dedicated in September 1946 by
16125-522: Was housed in a pumphouse, and pumped the water to a reservoir on Tower Hill. In 1902, a new pumping station was built on Station Road, and the old one was converted to housing in 1919. The second pumphouse was replaced by a new works with boreholes on Beech Close in 1939. The company was absorbed by East Surrey Water in 1959. The amalgamation was authorised by the East Surrey Water Order 1958, which came into effect on 1 January 1959. Dorking Water as
16254-543: Was in the administrative and historic county of Surrey . At the 2011 census , Morden had a population of 48,233, including the wards of Cannon Hill, Lower Morden , Merton Park, Ravensbury and St Helier. Morden Hall Park , a National Trust park on the banks of the River Wandle adjacent to the town centre, is a key feature of the area. Morden's name may be derived from the Common Brittonic words Mawr (great or large) and Dun (fort), or possibly "The Town on
16383-413: Was introduced to a site at Newdigate in the early 1900s. It has in 2008 been recorded in tributaries of the River Mole at Capel and Brockham . The River Mole has the most diverse fish population of any river in England. The Gatwick Stream is dominated by coarse fish such as brown trout , brook lamprey , and eel . In 2003, the upper River Mole near Meath Green Lane, Horley, was enhanced to create
16512-619: Was supplied to certain types of building. By 1958, the company had three works, at Sutton, Cheam and Woodmansterne, all of which abstracted water from deep wells in the underlying chalk aquifer. The hard water was treated with lime to soften it before being pumped to the distribution network. Each pumping station had diesel and electric pumps, and Sutton works also still had backup steam engines for pumping. East Surrey Water and Sutton District Water merged in 1996 to become Sutton and East Surrey Water plc. It had its head office in Redhill, and moved into
16641-465: Was the oldest, dating from Saxon times . The drainage area of the Mole is 477 km (184 sq mi) and forms 5% of the River Thames 's catchment area above Teddington . The catchment area receives 761 mm (30.0 in) of rain each year; the greatest average level of rainfall is 800 mm (31.5 in) around Crawley . The Mole catchment reaches a maximum elevation of 265 m (869 ft) above Ordnance Datum at Leith Hill to
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