Haweswater Reservoir
Encyclopedia
Haweswater is a reservoir
in the English
Lake District
, built in the valley of Mardale
in the county of Cumbria
. The controversial construction of the Haweswater dam started in 1929, after Parliament
passed an Act
giving the Manchester Corporation
permission to build the reservoir to supply water for the urban conurbations of north-west England
. At the time, there was public outcry about the decision, as the valley of Mardale was populated by the farming villages of Measand and Mardale Green and the construction of the reservoir would mean that these villages would be flooded and lost and the population would have to be moved. In addition, the valley was considered one of the most picturesque in Westmorland
and many people thought it should be left alone.
Originally, Haweswater was a natural lake about four kilometres long, almost divided in two by a tongue of land at Measand; the two reaches of the lake were known as High Water and Low Water. The building of the dam
raised the water level by 29 metres (95 feet) and created a reservoir six kilometres (four miles) long and around 600 metres (almost half a mile) wide. The dam wall measures 470 metres long and 27.5 metres high; at the time of construction it was considered to be cutting-edge technology as it was the first hollow buttress dam
in the world, being constructed using 44 separate buttressed units joined by flexible joints. There is a parapet, 1.4 metres (56 inches) wide, running the length of the dam and from this, tunnelled supplies can be seen entering the reservoir from the adjoining valleys of Heltondale and Swindale. When the reservoir is full, it holds 84 billion litres (18.6 billion gallons) of water. The reservoir is now owned by United Utilities plc.
Prior to the valley being flooded in 1935, all the farms and dwellings of the villages of Mardale Green and Measand were demolished, as well as the centuries-old Dun Bull Inn at Mardale Green. The village church was dismantled and the stone used in constructing the dam; all the bodies in the churchyard were exhumed and re-buried at Shap. Today, when the water in the reservoir is low, the remains of the submerged village of Mardale Green can still be seen as stone walls and the village bridge become visible as the water level drops.
The Manchester Corporation built a new road along the eastern side of the lake to replace the flooded highway lower in the valley, and the Haweswater Hotel was constructed midway down the length of the reservoir as a replacement for the Dun Bull. The road continues to the western end of Haweswater, where a small car park has been built; this is a popular starting point for walkers who want to climb the surrounding fells of Harter Fell, Branstree
and High Street
.
The Haweswater valley is the only place in England where golden eagle
s nest. There is an RSPB
observation post in the valley of Riggindale, where the pair have their eyrie. A pair of eagles first nested in the valley in 1969 and the male and female of the pairing have changed several times over the years, during which sixteen chicks have been produced. The female bird disappeared in April 2004, leaving the male on its own. However, the RSPB are hoping a replacement female will be drawn to the area.
Lake District writer and fell walker Alfred Wainwright
had this to say on the construction of the Haweswater dam in his Pictorial Guide to the Far Eastern Lakeland Fells:
, set in Mardale at the time of the building of the dam and flooding of the valley. It won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
for a First Book in 2003. The novel was released in the United States as a paperback original in October 2006, by Harper Perennial.
Hawes Water is described in Anthony Trollope
's novel Can You Forgive Her?
(1864).
Haweswater is the lake that can be seen from the door of 'Crow Crag' in the film Withnail & I although filming of the cottage itself was done elsewhere.
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, built in the valley of Mardale
Mardale
Mardale is a glacial valley in the Lake District, in northern England. The valley used to have a hamlet at its head, called Mardale Green, but this village was submerged in 1935 when the water level of the valley's lake, Haweswater, was raised to form Haweswater Reservoir by the Manchester...
in the county of Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
. The controversial construction of the Haweswater dam started in 1929, after Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
passed an Act
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
giving the Manchester Corporation
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
permission to build the reservoir to supply water for the urban conurbations of north-west England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. At the time, there was public outcry about the decision, as the valley of Mardale was populated by the farming villages of Measand and Mardale Green and the construction of the reservoir would mean that these villages would be flooded and lost and the population would have to be moved. In addition, the valley was considered one of the most picturesque in Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
and many people thought it should be left alone.
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
raised the water level by 29 metres (95 feet) and created a reservoir six kilometres (four miles) long and around 600 metres (almost half a mile) wide. The dam wall measures 470 metres long and 27.5 metres high; at the time of construction it was considered to be cutting-edge technology as it was the first hollow buttress dam
Buttress dam
A buttress dam or hollow dam is a dam with a solid, water-tight upstream side that is supported at intervals on the downstream side by a series of buttresses or supports. The dam wall may be flat or curved. Most buttress dams are made of reinforced concrete and are heavy, pushing the dam into the...
in the world, being constructed using 44 separate buttressed units joined by flexible joints. There is a parapet, 1.4 metres (56 inches) wide, running the length of the dam and from this, tunnelled supplies can be seen entering the reservoir from the adjoining valleys of Heltondale and Swindale. When the reservoir is full, it holds 84 billion litres (18.6 billion gallons) of water. The reservoir is now owned by United Utilities plc.
Prior to the valley being flooded in 1935, all the farms and dwellings of the villages of Mardale Green and Measand were demolished, as well as the centuries-old Dun Bull Inn at Mardale Green. The village church was dismantled and the stone used in constructing the dam; all the bodies in the churchyard were exhumed and re-buried at Shap. Today, when the water in the reservoir is low, the remains of the submerged village of Mardale Green can still be seen as stone walls and the village bridge become visible as the water level drops.
The Manchester Corporation built a new road along the eastern side of the lake to replace the flooded highway lower in the valley, and the Haweswater Hotel was constructed midway down the length of the reservoir as a replacement for the Dun Bull. The road continues to the western end of Haweswater, where a small car park has been built; this is a popular starting point for walkers who want to climb the surrounding fells of Harter Fell, Branstree
Branstree
Branstree is a fell in the Far Eastern part of the English Lake District. It overlooks the valley of Mardale and Haweswater Reservoir.-Topography:...
and High Street
High Street (Lake District)
High Street is a fell in the English Lake District. At 828 metres , its summit is the highest point in the far eastern part of the national park. The fell is named after the Roman road which ran over the summit.-History and Naming:...
.
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
s nest. There is an RSPB
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Bird Notes and News was first published in April 1903.The title changed to 'Bird Notes' in 1947. In the 1950s, there were four copies per year . Each volume covered two years, spread over three calendar years...
observation post in the valley of Riggindale, where the pair have their eyrie. A pair of eagles first nested in the valley in 1969 and the male and female of the pairing have changed several times over the years, during which sixteen chicks have been produced. The female bird disappeared in April 2004, leaving the male on its own. However, the RSPB are hoping a replacement female will be drawn to the area.
Lake District writer and fell walker Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright MBE was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the...
had this to say on the construction of the Haweswater dam in his Pictorial Guide to the Far Eastern Lakeland Fells:
- "If we can accept as absolutely necessary the conversion of Haweswater
[to a reservoir] , then it must be conceded that Manchester have done the job as unobtrusively as possible. Mardale is still a noble valley. But man works with such clumsy hands! Gone for ever are the quiet wooded bays and shingly shores that nature had fashioned so sweetly in the Haweswater of old; how aggressively ugly is the tidemark of the new Haweswater!".
Literary references
Haweswater (2002) is also the name of a novel by Sarah HallSarah Hall (writer)
Sarah Hall is an English novelist, and poet. Her critically acclaimed second novel, The Electric Michelangelo, was nominated for the 2004 Man Booker Prize and achieved considerable international commercial success...
, set in Mardale at the time of the building of the dam and flooding of the valley. It won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers is an initiative by the Commonwealth Foundation to unearth, develop and promote the best new fiction from across the Commonwealth. It's flagship are two literary awards and a website...
for a First Book in 2003. The novel was released in the United States as a paperback original in October 2006, by Harper Perennial.
Hawes Water is described in Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
's novel Can You Forgive Her?
Can You Forgive Her?
Can You Forgive Her? is a novel by Anthony Trollope, first published in serial form in 1864 and 1865. It is the first of six novels in the "Palliser" series....
(1864).
Haweswater is the lake that can be seen from the door of 'Crow Crag' in the film Withnail & I although filming of the cottage itself was done elsewhere.