Walshaw Dean Reservoirs

53.7994°N 2.0514°W / 53.7994; -2.0514 Walshaw Dean Reservoirs are three reservoirs situated above Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England. They are between Hebden Bridge and Top Withins, a ruined farmhouse near Haworth, the reputed inspiration for "Wuthering Heights" in the novel of the same name by Emily Brontë.^[1]

The Upper and Middle reservoirs in March 2009

The reservoirs' catchments are dominated by peatland habitats.^[2] The reservoirs drain into the Calder Valley.

On 19 May 1989 Walshaw Dean Lodge entered the UK Weather Records with the Highest 120-min total rainfall at 193 mm; however, the Met Office expresses 'reservations' about this record.^[3]

History

To cope with the growing population of Halifax, construction of the reservoirs was put out to tender by Halifax Corporation. The winning bid, for £170,766 (1900) (equivalent to £21.71 million or US$26.98 million in 2023)^[4], was submitted by Enoch Tempest.^[5]

To house the navvies working on construction a temporary shanty town named Dawson City was built, with a narrow-gauge railway, Blake Dean Railway, to transport navvies and construction materials to the sites of the reservoirs.

Access

The reservoirs are on the Pennine Way.

References

1. Walk 62 Hebden Bridge to Pondon Archived 24 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Protecting and improving the moorland surrounding Walshaw Dean Reservoirs". Yorkshire Water. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
3. metoffice.gov.uk Archived 29 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
4. United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2024). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
5. "Dawson City". National Trust. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.

External links

Media related to Walshaw Dean Reservoirs at Wikimedia Commons