About Us

Independent water 
supply company

The Cholderton & District Water Company was established by an Act of Parliament in 1904 and was incorporated as a private limited company 35 years later.  It now operates as a private supplier.

How Cholderton & District Water Company came about

When Henry Charles Stephens MP purchased the estate - which included the two villages of Shipton Bellinger and Cholderton - the area's water provision was inadequate to say the last.   The former had a rudimentary mains water system in place, with water being moved by a wind pump from a well on the outskirts of the village to a small reservoir on a nearby hill. Cholderton and its outlying houses, however, relied entirely on domestic wells with hand pumps.

Henry Stephens, who had a particular interest in the supply of fresh water, was determined to improve the system and promoted his Water Act through Parliament. This gave the company powers to lay mains, construct reservoirs, and the right to supply and sell water in the Parishes of Cholderton in Wiltshire as well as Shipton Bellinger, and parts of Thruxton,  Amport and Quarley in Hampshire. A schedule to the Act listed the works to be undertaken.  Some are still in use today, such was the quality of the works when completed.
Our private water supply service

Sampling and Analysis

The water we supply at Cholderton & District Water Company is tested on a weekly basis via the laboratories at Wessex Water.  Water quality is governed by the Private Water Supplies Regulations and is monitored by Test Valley BC and Wiltshire Council.  We achieve very high levels of water purity, with both taste and clarity meeting the highest quality standards. The water is very alkaline and contains high levels of dissolved carbonates.
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Are you without a water supply? Get in touch on

01980 629 203

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