Clayton-le-Woods - Victorian Reservoir
October 2013 ! I do love it when social media works in the right direction - I was lucky enough to be one of the few that live in the area and visit the reservoir before it was consigned to history - I was not disappointed.
Built in 1884 to provide water storage for Leyland The brick-vaulted Clayton reservoir, decommissioned 21 years ago, is under land in Back Lane, Clayton-le-Woods. Campaigners have not been able to raise money to preserve the reservoir and had failed in applications for it to be made a listed building.
When the underground reservoir was built, a new 14 mile pipeline was laid to Wheelton and a connection was taken from the Thirlmere Aqueduct.
In 1883, a special ceremony was held to lay the foundation stone and there was little above ground to show that it even existed. The reservoir originally used a steam pump to lift water from a large diameter well, approximately 25 meters deep, and pumped it into the reservoir where it then fed drinking water to Leyland through a cast iron waterpipe. Subsequently a much deeper bore hole was sunk below the bottom of the well, and a submersible electric pump used to extract water - making the steam pump redundant.
Despite its history English Heritage has twice refused an application for the reservoir to be made a listed building. The body, which advises of the care of historical sites, said it does not fulfil the criteria for national recognition as it is 'neither a rare nor an exceptional example of its type'. Chorley Historical and Archaeological Society tried unsuccessfully to save parts of the reservoir for posterity. The society said that as a piece of industrial archaeology, the site was a 'unique piece of our heritage as it is the oldest and last surviving example of a brick vaulted underground reservoir construction in the area'.
Now developer Kingswood Homes has agreed to open a side wall to allow the public inside to view the Victorian reservoir ahead of its demolition.
Rosemary Boyd, a member of the Chorley Historical and Archaeological Society, said: 'At first we were very disappointed because we couldn’t get the funding, but we’re very pleased it’s being made available for the community to see, especially the children.' Paul Jones, from developers Kingswood Homes, said it would be open for guided tours for two weeks. He said: 'We felt it was important to open it to the local community to give them the opportunity to come and have a look at the archaeology and the history.' A spokesman for Kingswood Homes added: 'Kingswood Homes have been working closely with the local archaeological society to develop a commercially viable option to retain the reservoir at Clayton-le-Woods.
http://kingswoodhomes.uk.com/theoaks/clayton_le_woods_history.php
From the above link you can download the booklet that was given out on the tours !
So glad I was able to capture before the houses were built ! Wonder if the new owners know the history ...
Built in 1884 to provide water storage for Leyland The brick-vaulted Clayton reservoir, decommissioned 21 years ago, is under land in Back Lane, Clayton-le-Woods. Campaigners have not been able to raise money to preserve the reservoir and had failed in applications for it to be made a listed building.
When the underground reservoir was built, a new 14 mile pipeline was laid to Wheelton and a connection was taken from the Thirlmere Aqueduct.
In 1883, a special ceremony was held to lay the foundation stone and there was little above ground to show that it even existed. The reservoir originally used a steam pump to lift water from a large diameter well, approximately 25 meters deep, and pumped it into the reservoir where it then fed drinking water to Leyland through a cast iron waterpipe. Subsequently a much deeper bore hole was sunk below the bottom of the well, and a submersible electric pump used to extract water - making the steam pump redundant.
Despite its history English Heritage has twice refused an application for the reservoir to be made a listed building. The body, which advises of the care of historical sites, said it does not fulfil the criteria for national recognition as it is 'neither a rare nor an exceptional example of its type'. Chorley Historical and Archaeological Society tried unsuccessfully to save parts of the reservoir for posterity. The society said that as a piece of industrial archaeology, the site was a 'unique piece of our heritage as it is the oldest and last surviving example of a brick vaulted underground reservoir construction in the area'.
Now developer Kingswood Homes has agreed to open a side wall to allow the public inside to view the Victorian reservoir ahead of its demolition.
Rosemary Boyd, a member of the Chorley Historical and Archaeological Society, said: 'At first we were very disappointed because we couldn’t get the funding, but we’re very pleased it’s being made available for the community to see, especially the children.' Paul Jones, from developers Kingswood Homes, said it would be open for guided tours for two weeks. He said: 'We felt it was important to open it to the local community to give them the opportunity to come and have a look at the archaeology and the history.' A spokesman for Kingswood Homes added: 'Kingswood Homes have been working closely with the local archaeological society to develop a commercially viable option to retain the reservoir at Clayton-le-Woods.
http://kingswoodhomes.uk.com/theoaks/clayton_le_woods_history.php
From the above link you can download the booklet that was given out on the tours !
So glad I was able to capture before the houses were built ! Wonder if the new owners know the history ...
"The body, which advises of the care of historical sites, said it does not fulfil the criteria for national recognition as it is 'neither a rare nor an exceptional example of its type'."
ReplyDeleteAnd it probably never belonged to one of their mates.