- Swinsty Reservoir
Infobox lake
lake_name = Swinsty Reservoir
image_lake = Swinsty-from-dam.png
caption_lake = Viewed from Fewston Dam
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location =North Yorkshire
coords = coord|53.9753|N|1.7017|W|region:GB_type:waterbody|display=inline,title
type =reservoir
inflow =
outflow =
catchment =
basin_countries = United Kingdom
length =
width =
area = 63 ha
depth =
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cities =Swinsty Reservoir is located in the Washburn valley north of
Otley and west ofHarrogate inYorkshire ,England . Construction began in1871 and was completed in1878 . The capacity is about 866 million gallons, with a surface area of 63 hectares. It can be found from theA59 road .The reservoir is below and directly adjoining
Fewston Reservoir . The dam separating the two, Fewston Dam, features prominently in the opening titles of thesoap opera "Emmerdale ". [ [http://www.emmerdale.me.uk "Emmerdale" behind the scenes - filming locations revealed] ]Before the reservoir
Beneath the waters of the reservoir are the remains of New Hall, originally a home to the Fairfax family, whose members included
Ferdinando Fairfax and the poetEdward Fairfax . [ [http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/pdf/DS-P-ConAreaTimble.pdf Local History - reference re Fairfaxes] ] Women in the nearby village ofTimble were twice tried atYork for witchcraft on the accusation of Edward, who suspected them of possessing his two daughters. NeighbouringFewston Reservoir covers another Fairfax family home, Cragg Hall.The Washburn by Tom Bradley (published 1895, reprinted 1988)]Construction
The reservoir was built by the Leeds Waterworks Company, and employed a labour force of around 300 men under the management of Robert Brooks, previously an assistant at the construction of
Lindley Wood Reservoir . Consultants wereThomas Hawksley ofWestminster and Edward Filliter ofLeeds .Lesser Railways of the Yorkshire Dales and the Dam Builders in the Age of Steam by Harold D Bowtell, ISBN 978-1-871980-09-7]Work on the construction of the reservoir began in 1871. "The Huts", as they were known locallyTimble Man - Diaries of a Dalesman, by John Dickinson, edited by Ronald Harker (published 1988)] , were constructed to house the workforce, in part using materials from a water mill dismantled in the valley. The bulk of the materials for the dam itself came to
Starbeck by rail. From there they were, at first, transported to the site using a steam traction engine pulling wagons. However, by 1872 this practice was put to an end due to the damage being caused to the 'Turnpike road', now the A59, and from then on materials were transported by contractors.At the site, a
narrow gauge railway was constructed, and two locomotives purchased, the first arriving in1873 and the second in1875 .The impact of the construction work was considerable for local residents, in ways both positive and negative. In his diaries, local man John Dickinson mentions the waterworks band coming with their music on Christmas Day, a visit to a "Magic Lantern performance at The Huts" and a waterworks sports day on Swinsty Moor with several hundred in attendance. On the downside, he complains several times of "rough navvies" occupying the local inn at
Timble , and expresses the hope they will soon be gone.As work neared completion in
1877 , the huts were removed and the filling of the reservoir began. Work was finally completed in1878 .Design and architecture
The reservoir is fed directly from the overflow of neighbouring
Fewston Reservoir via a shallow spillway which bypasses Fewston Dam and terminates in a grand stepped cascade of falling water. The culvert under the dam itself terminates in an archway topped on the keystone with an ornate carving of the head ofAchelous who stares out over the reservoir itself.The water is held in place by a small dam on the eastern side, and a much larger one at the southern end, beyond which the
River Washburn continues its descent to join theRiver Wharfe .winsty Hall
On the banks of the reservoir stands "Swinsty Hall", built in the 17th century. Local legend has it that the hall was built by a man named Robinson, who left nearby
Fewston to seek his fortune inLondon . On arriving there, he found it in the grip of the great plague of 1603-4. Robinson took to looting the houses of the dead and amassed a great fortune with which he returned home, purchased the Swinsty estate, and built Swinsty Hall.The truth appears more mundane - a family named Wood owned the Swinsty estates in the sixteenth century, and Francis Wood undertook to erect a new hall on the estate as part of a marriage contract. Unable to pay for it, he raised a loan from Henry Robinson, and when he got into further financial difficulties in 1590, Robinson foreclosed and took the hall and estates in lieu of the debt.
The hall was owned by a succession of Robinsons right up until
1772 . At this point, the male Robinson line came to an end and the hall and estate passed to Robert Bramley, husband of Mary Robinson, and later his son John Bramley, and in1853 John Bramley's son, also named John. [Harrogate and the Forest of Knaresborough byWilliam Grainge (published 1871, reprinted 1988)] Stone for the construction ofFewston Reservoir was purchased from the Swinsty Hall quarry in1874 , from a Mr Bramley.External links
* [http://www.yorkshirewater.com/?OBH=249&ID=2905 Yorkshire Water] - Swinsty Reservoir
* [http://www.old-maps.co.uk/oldmaps/index_external.jsp?easting=419000&northing=454000 Old Map] - Swinsty Moor, showing New HallReferences
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