Today we take water for granted. Turn a tap and the stuff gushes out. But for centuries London struggled to supply its citizens with reliable, clean drinking water. Nick Higham’s talk, based on his book The Mercenary River, tells the story of London’s water from the middle ages to the 20th century. It’s a tale of remarkable technological, scientific and organisational breakthroughs, but also a story of greed and complacency, high finance and low politics, which pitted the interests of private profit-making corporations against those of the public at large.

Thursday 8th December, 5pm Hornsey Library, Haringey Park

Admission free