page_title: Thirlmere
section_title: Committee Stage
hierarchical_section_title: Thirlmere / The 'Thirlmere scheme' / Private Bill of 1878 / Committee Stage
caption_attribution_description: Creator/Photographer: Lock and Witfield Medium: Medium unknown Dimensions: 8.7 cm x 5.7 cm Date:Prior to 1898 Collection: Scientific Identity: Portraits from the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology - As a supplement to the Dibner Library for the History of Science and Technology's collection of written works by scientists, engineers, natural philosophers, and inventors, the library also has a collection of thousands of portraits of these individuals. The portraits come in a variety of formats: drawings, woodcuts, engravings, paintings, and photographs, all collected by donor Bern Dibner. Presented here are a few photos from the collection, from the late 19th and early 20th century. Repository: Smithsonian Institution Libraries Accession number: SIL14-P004-05
context_page_description: Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District. The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a number of fells; for instance, Armboth Fell and Raven Crag both of which give views of the lake and of Helvellyn beyond.
  It runs roughly south to north and is bordered on the eastern side for much of its length by the A591 road and on the western side by a minor road. It occupies the site of a former natural lake: this had a fordable waist so narrow that it was sometimes regarded as two lakes. In the 19th century Manchester Corporation constructed a dam at the northern end, raising the water level, flooding the valley bottom, and creating a reservoir to provide the growing industrial city of Manchester with water supplies via the 96 mile-long Thirlmere Aqueduct. The reservoir and the aqueduct still provide water to the Manchester area, but under the Water Act 1973 ownership passed to the North West Water Authority; as a result of subsequent privatisation and amalgamation they are now owned and managed by United Utilities, a private water and waste water company.
context_section_description: The bill was considered by a committee chaired by Lyon Playfair:  its terms of reference were (bulleting added for clarity) 
  to inquire into, and report upon the present sufficiency of the water supply of Manchester and its neighbourhood, and of any other sources available for such supply;
  to consider whether permission should be given to make use of any of the Westmoreland and Cumberland lakes for the purpose, and if so, how far and under what conditions, to consider the prospective requirements of the populations situated between the lake district and Manchester;
  to inquire, and report, whether any, and, if so, what, provisions should be made in limitation of proposals for the exclusive use of the water of any of the said lakes
caption: Lyon Playfair, chairman of the committee
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