Widdop Reservoir is built on Widdop Stream, above Heptonstall.
The reservoir was designed by J. F. Bateman for Halifax Corporation to provide a water supply from Widdop to Halifax, 8 miles away.
It was constructed under an Act of Parliament passed in 1868. The first sod was turned on 26th July 1871 by Mayor H. C. McCrea. The reservoir opened in June 1878. It occupies 93 acres and has a capacity of 640,511,000 gallons.
Bateman favoured the use of gravitational systems to control the flow of water, as this avoided the use of pumps. He also used the Roman system of the inverted syphon
The route from Widdop
for final distribution to the town.
The design of the valve tower reminds us that Bateman was interested in Egyptian matters and had attended the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
The Walshaw Dean Reservoirs [1907] and Gorple reservoirs [1934] are nearby.
The Boggart Stones lie to the south.
The remains of a Neolithic workshop were found nearby. There are many boulders with cup-and-ring marks below the water
See Clubbers, Greave Clough, Hebden Bridge, Navvyopolis, Old Traveller's Rest, Widdop, Pisser Clough, Hebden Bridge and Wadsworth Moor
This & associated entries use material contributed by Steven Beasley
Page Ref: MMW552
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