Rudyard Lake

Rudyard Lake
Rudyard Lake
	Rudyard Lake
Location	Staffordshire
Coordinates	53°8′10″N2°5′10″W / 53.13611°N 2.08611°W
Type	reservoir
Primary outflows	Caldon Canal
Basin countries	United Kingdom
Managing agency	Canal & River Trust
Built	1799
Surface area	664,000 square metres (164 acres)
Water volume	2,950,000m³ (648 million gallons)

Last updated January 26, 2024

Rudyard miniature railway train Merlinleaveslake.JPG — Rudyard miniature railway train

Lakeside homes Rudyardhouses.jpg — Lakeside homes

Rudyard Lake is a reservoir in Rudyard, Staffordshire, located north-west of the town of Leek, Staffordshire. It was constructed in the late 18th century to feed the Caldon Canal. During the 19th century, it was a popular destination for daytrippers taking advantage of easy access using the newly constructed North Staffordshire Railway. The lake is still used for many water activities such as boating, canoeing, fishing and also for walks and recreational steam train trips.

History

Legend has it that the village of Rudyard was named after Ralph Rudyard, a local man reputed to have killed Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, although as the place-name, meaning 'a yard or enclosure where rue is grown' in Old English, was first recorded in 1022 and subsequently mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086^[1] it is more likely that Ralph, if he ever existed, was named after the village.^[2]

Rudyard Lake was constructed by the engineer John Rennie, for the Trent and Mersey Canal company in 1797–98 to feed the Caldon Canal.^[3] The reservoir had been proposed in 1796, and would have been connected to the upper level of the Caldon Canal by a feeder, but in order to win the consent of landowners, the 3.3-mile (5.3 km) section below Leek was made navigable. The bill to promote the construction failed in Parliament, and there was a suggestion for a bigger scheme, involving a canal from Marple on the Peak Forest Canal to the Caldon Canal, passing through Macclesfield and Rudyard. Benjamin Outram, the engineer for the Peak Forest Canal, would have overseen the project, and again, it would have involved a reservoir at Rudyard. However, the Trent and Mersey re-submitted their bill in early 1797, and it became an Act of Parliament in March.^[4]

As built, the lake is around 2 miles (3.2 km) long and 0.25 miles (0.40 km) wide. It was formed by creating a 63-foot (19 m) earth dam at the southern end of the steep wooded valley, which is faced with stone on the upstream side, to prevent erosion. A spillway, some 60 feet (18 m) wide, was built at the eastern side of the dam, and feeds the 2.5-mile (4 km) feeder than carries water to the Leek Branch. The main source of water supply to the lake is a feeder that runs from the headwaters of the River Dane. This was refurbished in the mid-1990s by the Waterway Recovery Group. The lake has gradually silted up, but there are problems associated with dredging it, due to a lack of access for vehicles, and English Nature's concern over the disturbance of some rare fauna.^[5]

On 26 June 1846 the North Staffordshire Railway successfully took over the canal company and lake as part of one of its acts of parliament that resulted in the formation of the railway. Having acquired the lake and the land around it the railway used the land down one side as the route for its Churnet Valley Line between Macclesfield and Uttoxeter. Two stations were built, one at Rudyard village (later renamed Rudyard Lake) and one at the north end of the lake called Rudyard Lake (later renamed Cliffe Park)^[6]

Because of the accessibility brought by the railway stations, daytrippers and tourists began visiting the lake. Visitors included John Lockwood Kipling and Alice Macdonald, the parents of Rudyard Kipling, who met there on a trip from Burslem. They liked the place so much they named their son after it.^[2] By the end of the 19th century, crowds of up to 20,000 people could visit the lake on some days.^[3] Its popularity continued into the early 20th century, and over 20,000 visitors were carried to the site on 88 trains on a particular day in 1913.^[7] Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, entertained crowds by demonstrating his swimming in the lake,^[3] and Carlos Trower ("the African Blondin") performed a tightrope walk across the lake.^[8]

Attractions

The lake is home to Rudyard Lake Sailing Club and North Staffordshire Rowing Club. Fishing, walking, canoeing and boat trips are popular attractions.^[9] The lake has a visitor centre, toilets and an activity centre which can be hired for functions or conferences. An annual lake festival is held on a Sunday in August and a firework display takes place in November.

The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway runs narrow gauge steam trains that operate up the east side of the lake on many days throughout the year. It is possible to walk round the lake or walk part way and start/finish the journey by steam train.

Top Gear episode

The BBC's motoring show Top Gear held a challenge at the lake in 2006 to see which presenter had designed the best amphibious car. Richard Hammond's attempt sank while Jeremy Clarkson's attempt capsized with Richard on board at the end of the challenge. However, James May's Triumph Herald, complete with sail and mast, performed well, despite the almost total absence of wind, and he was able to drive it out of the water, thus winning the challenge.^[10]

Related Research Articles

Leek is a market town and civil parish in the county of Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet. It is situated about 10 miles (16 km) north east of Stoke-on-Trent. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214.

Rudyard is a lakeside village in the county of Staffordshire, England, west of Leek and on the shore of Rudyard Lake. Population details as taken at the 2011 census can be found under Horton.

Endon is a village within the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire, England. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Leek and 6 miles (9.7 km) north-northeast of Stoke-on-Trent. Endon was formerly a township in civil parish of Leek.

The River Dane is a tributary of the River Weaver that originates in the Peak District area of England. The name of the river is probably from the Old Welsh dafn, meaning a "drop or trickle", implying a slow-moving river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Churnet</span> River in Staffordshire, England

The River Churnet is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove.

The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire.

Caldon Canal is a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal which opened in 1779. It runs 18 miles (29 km) from Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, to Froghall, Staffordshire. The canal has 17 locks and the 76-yard (69 m) Froghall Tunnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uttoxeter Canal</span>

The Uttoxeter Canal was a thirteen-mile extension of the Caldon Canal running from Froghall as far as Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, England. It was authorised in 1797, but did not open until 1811. With the exception of the first lock and basin at Froghall, it closed in 1849, in order that the Churnet Valley line of the North Staffordshire Railway could be constructed along its length. The railway has since been dismantled and there are plans to reinstate the canal.

The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands of Staffordshire, England. It operates on part of the former Churnet Valley Line which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway. The railway is roughly 10.5 miles (16.9 km) long from Kingsley and Froghall to Ipstones. The land from Leek Brook Junction to Ipstones was opened by Moorland & City Railways (MCR) in 2010 after they took a lease out from Network Rail. This has subsequently been purchased by the Churnet Valley Railway. The main stations along the line are Kingsley and Froghall, Consall, Cheddleton and Leek Brook. Work has begun to extend the line to the town of Leek which will act as the northern terminus of the line. The line between Leek and Waterhouses has also been reopened as part of the heritage railway as far as Ipstones.

The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England. There were various proposals for a canal to connect the town of Macclesfield to the national network from 1765 onwards, but it was not until 1824 that a scheme came to fruition. There were already suggestions by that date that a railway would be better, but the committee that had been formed elected for a canal and the engineer Thomas Telford endorsed the decision. The canal as built was a typical Telford canal, constructed using cut and fill, with numerous cuttings and embankments to enable it to follow as straight a course as possible, although Telford had little to do with its construction, which was managed by William Crosley.

Consall is a small village situated in the Staffordshire Moorlands, Staffordshire, England. It is approximately 6 miles south of the market town of Leek and 8 miles east of Stoke-on-Trent. According to the last Census taken in 2001, Consall had a population of 118, increasing to 150 at the 2011 census.

Froghall is a village situated approximately ten miles to the east of Stoke-on-Trent and two miles north of Cheadle in Staffordshire, England. Population details as taken at the 2011 Census can be found under Kingsley. Froghall sits in the Churnet Valley, a beautiful and relatively unspoilt part of Staffordshire. There are some excellent and challenging walks in the area, many of which encompass the area's historic development by the coal, ironstone, copper and limestone industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bosley Lock Flight</span>

Bosley Lock Flight is a flight of twelve canal locks, situated on the Macclesfield Canal at Bosley, near Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. The locks are substantially built with stone blocks, and unusually for narrow locks have mitre gates at both ends. They were each built with a side pond, which enabled some of the water to be re-used during a filling and emptying cycle. The side ponds have been disused for many years, but there are plans to reinstate one of them for demonstration purposes.

The Churnet Valley line was one of the three original routes planned and built by the North Staffordshire Railway. Authorised in 1846, the line opened in 1849 and ran from North Rode in Cheshire to Uttoxeter in East Staffordshire. The line was closed in several stages between 1964 and 1988 but part of the central section passed into the hands of a preservation society and today operates as the Churnet Valley Railway.

Cliffe Park railway station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1905 on the Churnet Valley line to attract visitors to Rudyard Lake, which the NSR were trying to develop as a leisure and tourist attraction including a golf course. The station was originally named Rudyard Lake and was at the northern end of the lake. There were no settlements nearby and consequently the station had no goods facilities. There was one siding but this was used more for stabling excursion trains rather than freight vehicles.

Rudyard railway station served Rudyard, Staffordshire and was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1850 on the Churnet Valley line. In the village the NSR also owned the Rudyard Hotel as part of the company's efforts to develop Rudyard Lake and its environs as a tourist destination.

Ipstones railway station was a railway station that served the village of Ipstones, Staffordshire. It was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1905 and closed to passenger use in 1935, but remained open to freight traffic until 1964.

Bradnop railway station was a railway station that served the village of Bradnop, Staffordshire. It was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1905 and closed to passenger use in 1935, but remained open to freight traffic until 1964.

The Waterhouses branch line was a railway built by the North Staffordshire Railway to link the small villages east of Leek, Staffordshire with Leek, the biggest market town in the area. The railway opened in 1905 but closed to passengers in 1935. Freight continued on the line though until 1988, when the line was mothballed as the traffic from the quarries at Caldon Low ceased.

Leek railway station is the proposed and future terminus of the Churnet Valley Railway and is currently awaiting construction. It will be the second railway station in Leek.

References

↑ Mills, A.D. (1998). A Guide to English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
1 2 The Potteries – Did You Know, Rudyard Lake Accessed 16 July 2012
1 2 3 "A history of Rudyard". Rudyard Lake. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
↑ Hadfield 1985, p. 200.
↑ Sims 2004, p. 75.
↑ Jeuda, Basil (1999). The Churnet Valley Railway. Lydney, Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-899889-05-1.
↑ Sims 2004, p. 74.
↑ The African Blondin - Performances Accessed 9 May 2016
↑ Rudyard Lake official website – Activities Accessed 16 July 2012
↑ Richard Porter (2015), Top Gear: Ambitious but Rubbish: The Secrets Behind Top Gear's Craziest Creations, Ebury, pp. 42–43, ISBN 9781448140084

Bibliography

Hadfield, Charles (1985). The Canals of the West Midlands. David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-8644-6.
Sims, Jon (April 2004). "An Exceedingly Good Lake". Waterways World. ISSN 0309-1422.

External links

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[1] Mills, A.D. (1998). A Guide to English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[Potteries-2] 1 2 The Potteries – Did You Know, Rudyard Lake Accessed 16 July 2012

[Rudyard-3] 1 2 3 "A history of Rudyard". Rudyard Lake. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.

[FOOTNOTEHadfield1985200-4] Hadfield 1985, p. 200.

[FOOTNOTESims200475-5] Sims 2004, p. 75.

[6] Jeuda, Basil (1999). The Churnet Valley Railway. Lydney, Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-899889-05-1.

[FOOTNOTESims200474-7] Sims 2004, p. 74.

[AfricanBlondin-8] The African Blondin - Performances Accessed 9 May 2016

[Activities-9] Rudyard Lake official website – Activities Accessed 16 July 2012

[10] Richard Porter (2015), Top Gear: Ambitious but Rubbish: The Secrets Behind Top Gear's Craziest Creations, Ebury, pp. 42–43, ISBN 9781448140084

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