Description and History of Site:-
This reservoir, in the valley of the Sladen Beck, and part of the Sladen Valley waterworks scheme, was originally intended and authorised by the Keighley Waterworks and Improvement Act of 1869 to be constructed about 1km upstream at Bully Trees, but initial investigations of that site in 1911 when construction actually started, indicated that the geology there was unsuitable so a successful application was made to Parliament to relocate the works to Lower Laithe. Officially opened in August 1925 at an estimated final cost of £500,000. As part of the works, Waterhead Lane which ran into Stanbury from Oxenhope to the south was diverted to run across the embankment, as it still does, now renamed Reservoir Road.

The embankment is straight, 310 m long and 26 m high, of concrete with a clay puddle core. Currently, the reservoir retains a volume of 1,275,000m3 of water when full to its top water level of 226m AOD. In 2010, the embankment was improved, and the spillway (at the northern end) rebuilt. Stone for the reservoir was originally sourced from the nearby Dimples Quarry (WYK00702) about 500m south east of the reservoir.

Further Reading and References:-
Barnett, M. Ratcliffe, Sladen Valley Waterworks, Keighley Corporation, Keighley, 1925.
https://waterprojectsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/case_studies/2012/Lower-Laithe-Reservoir-2012.pdf

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Key Words :- potable water impounding reservoir waterworks

Viewing the Site :- Reservoir Road runs along the top of the embankment.

Address :- Reservoir Road, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD22 0EZ
Grid Ref :- SE 0145 3694
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.828723 , Long -1.979453
Local Authority :- City of Bradford
Site Status :- Site extant - No Protection
Site Condition :- Operational site, in use for original purpose
Site Dates :- 1925 -
Record Date :- 8 June 2022

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Nick Nelson