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Abstract
This thesis examines, in a way never attempted before, the planning and first phase of construction of London's main drainage system (c.1848-68), focusing on the question of how these spaces were understood and represented - by both those who conceived, constructed, and promoted them and also by those who articulated responses to them. It departs from the narrow focus of existing literature on the subject, providing a thorough reassessment of primary sources from the period including: maps produced in the early stages of planning; proposals, both visual and verbal, drawn up by engineers; contract drawings, specifications and documents associated with the construction process, including newspaper articles and illustrations; architectural drawings relating to the development of the pumping stations associated with the system; and contemporaneous texts and illustrations that articulate responses to the system. The thesis suggests new ways of understanding this project by assessing its wider cultural impact.