BRITISH WATERWAYS BOARD

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0074 ACC/2423
Held at	: London Metropolitan Archives   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma ›
Full title	: BRITISH WATERWAYS BOARD
Date(s)	: 1760-1978
Level of description	: Collection
Extent	: 71.56 linear metres (4694 documents).
Name of creator(s)	: Lee Conservancy Catchment Board Lee Conservancy Board | 1869-1962

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

LEE CONSERVANCY BOARD: The Lee Conservancy Board was set up under the Lee Conservancy Act 1868 (31 and 32 Vic. c.154) to replace the Trustees of the Lea Navigation. Its powers came into effect from April 1869 and it was responsible for 50 miles of navigable waterways which included the Lea Navigation and, from 1911, the River Stort Navigation. Its duty was to control the whole of each river to ensure freedom from pollution, whilst sums were payable to the Board for the abstraction and protection of water. Under the Transport Act 1947 (c.49) the Lee Conservancy Board became the Lea District of the British Transport Commission. With the exception of water protection activities, functions formerly carried out by the Board were taken over by the Commission, but this body was then dissolved by the Transport Act 1962 (c.46) and its functions were divided between four boards, one of which was the British Waterways Board.

LEE CONSERVANCY CATCHMENT BOARD: The Lee Conservancy Catchment Board was established under the Land Drainage Act 1930 and was a body distinct and separate from the Lee Conservancy Board. The first members of the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board were the members of the Lee Conservancy Board, together with six additional members. It was responsible for functions of the Lee Conservancy Board relating to water supply, fisheries, pollution and drainage. The Lee Conservancy Catchment Board was abolished under the Water Act 1973 (c.37) and its functions were transferred to the Thames Water Authority.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Records from the Lee Conservancy Board Engineer's Office at Enfield Lock. The engineer appears also to have been responsible to the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board (for example, see Acc 2423/062).

The collection consists of nineteenth and twentieth century plans, papers and volumes concerning the Lee Conservancy Board, the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board, and the British Waterways Board, covering many aspects of maintenance work on waterways and administration. The papers comprise:

- Plans 1760-1954 (ACC 2423/P/0001-3786) A large proportion of the collection consists of plans, many reused with annotations. Items relate to repair work on sewers and buildings, improvements to rivers and pumping stations, and the purchase of land for new projects.
- Parliamentary Plans 1840-1965 (ACC 2423/PP/001-041) Plans produced for or submitted for Parliamentary Sessions to illustrate forthcoming work on waterways, for example, sewerage work, or waterways affected by the construction of railways.
- Specific Plans 1867-1964 (ACC 2423/R/001-076) A set of plans illustrating large projects, which seems to have been kept as a set distinct and separate from the main ACC 2423/P plan series by the placing of the letter `R' before each original plan number.
- General Plans 1828-1974 (ACC 2423/X/001-300) A collection of more general plans relating to projects focusing on improvements to the Lea River and Navigation, the Stort River and Navigation, the Bow Back Rivers and the Grand Union Canal.
- Ordnance Survey Maps 1838-1955 (ACC 2423/05/001-139) Maps used to plan forthcoming work, with frequent annotations, particularly for the drafting of courses for sewers.
- Engineers' Reports and Letter Books 1858-1961 (ACC 2423/001-136) Sets of volumes and files recording reports, contracts and specifications, and other maintenance records.
- Administrative and Legal Documents 1829-1977 (ACC 2423/AL/001-119) Administrative files relating to accidents and damage, together with inventories of assets, minutes of meetings, and engineers' reports. Legal documents include material on agreements for sale and tenancy, the conveyance of property, and contracts.
- Engineering and Maintenance Records 1892-1978 (ACC 2423/EM/001-097) Records relating to the maintenance and improvement of waterways, including development plans, moratorium surveys, pumping records, and related graphs and operation sheets.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Material within the collection is grouped largely by subject, but original document orders have also been noted and followed where appropriate: for example, the large plan collection ACC/2423/P/0001-3786 is catalogued in original number sequence, whilst the Ordnance Survey map list ACC/2423/OS/001-139 follows an existing pattern of numbering and grouping according to scale. The apparent distinction made by special coding between ACC/2423/R and the main plan series ACC/2423/P has been registered and maintained. A number of plans listed under ACC 2423/P were not transferred to this office, but catalogue descriptions have been taken from 4 original indexes of plans (ACC 2423/063-066).

Conditions governing access:

Available for general access.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright to these records rests with the depositor.

Finding aids:

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Records deposited in May 1987.

Allied Materials

Related material:

For records of the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board see ACC/2558/LC.

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
June to August 2010.