Water Solution: The Drought of 1898 and Luton's Two Brick Water Towers

摘要

Prologue:'... weariest river ...' Down to the nineteenth century my birth-town of Luton, centred on St Mary's church, was a small settlement, far from the present 'great colossus'. A river runs through it, giving its name to the town: Anglo-Saxon Lygtun (pronounced lueytun): farmstead or estate on the Lea (cf. Leyton, London E10, on the same river, though there often spelled 'Lee'). Beyond the centre, the huge parish was entirely rural. Only in the Victorian period (1837-1901) did the town begin to grow significantly. In 1841, its population was 5,827; by 1901 it had risen by 524.7 per cent to 36,404.