Wessenden Head Reservoir

Wessenden Head Reservoir
Wessenden Head Reservoir
Location	West Yorkshire
Coordinates	53°33′50″N1°53′46″W / 53.564°N 1.896°W / 53.564; -1.896 (Wessenden Head Reservoir)
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Shiny Brook Loadley Clough stream Wicken Grain Rushy Sike Clough stream Pudding Real Clough stream
Primary outflows	Wessenden Brook
Basin  countries	United Kingdom
Built	1881
Max. length	0.3 kilometres (0.2 mi)
Max. width	300 metres (984 ft)
Water volume	372,780 cubic metres (82,000,000 imp gal)
Surface elevation	386 metres (1,266 ft)

Wessenden Head Reservoir is the highest in a series of four reservoirs in the Wessenden Valley above the village of Marsden in West Yorkshire, at the northern end of the Peak District National Park. ^[1]

Following the Wessenden Valley Reservoir Embankment Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. xciv), Wessenden Reservoir was created by the construction of an earth embankment across Wessenden Brook. The Huddersfield Waterworks and Improvement Act 1876 (39 & 40 Vict. c. c) approved the building of a new reservoir above Wessenden Reservoir. Wessenden Head Reservoir was built between 1877 and 1881, fed from a catchwater drain via a sluice in the Shiny Brook (a tributary of Wessenden Brook). The Huddersfield Corporation Waterworks Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. cxv) led to Huddersfield Corporation purchasing the reservoirs from the Wessenden Commissioners in order to supply drinking water to the town. ^{[2] [3]}

Wessenden Head Reservoir has a storage capacity of 82,000,000 imperial gallons (370,000,000 L). ^[2] The reservoir is currently owned and operated by Yorkshire Water.

The Wessenden Valley Woodland Project was initiated in 2017 to develop natural habitats with increased biodiversity. ^[4]

The Pennine Way long-distance footpath runs along the northern side of the reservoir and its dam. ^[1]

See also

• Yorkshire Water Way

References

1. OL1 Dark Peak area (Map). 1:25000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. West sheet.
2. Woodhead, T. W. (1939). "History of the Huddersfield Water Supplies (1939) - Chapter V - Huddersfield Exposed: Exploring the History of the Huddersfield Area". Huddersfield Exposed. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
3. "Wessenden Reservoir - Huddersfield Exposed: Exploring the History of the Huddersfield Area". Huddersfield Exposed. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
4. Atkinson, Christopher (December 2017). "Wessenden Valley Woodland Project: An Archaeological Desk Based Assessment" (PDF). Retrieved 26 October 2020.