Walshaw Dean Reservoirs

Walshaw Dean Reservoirs are three reservoirs above Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England. They are between Hebden Bridge and Top Withins, a ruined farmhouse near Haworth, the reputed inspiration for "Wuthering Heights" in the novel of the same name by Emily Brontë.^[2]

Walshaw Dean Reservoirs
The Upper and Middle reservoirs in March 2009
Walshaw Dean Reservoirs
Location	Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire
Coordinates	53.7994°N 2.0514°W / 53.7994; -2.0514
Type	Reservoir
Primary outflows	Calder Valley
Basin countries	United Kingdom
Managing agency	Yorkshire Water
Built	1901 (1901)
First flooded	1907 (1907)
Surface area	11.293 km2 (4.360 sq mi)
Average depth	7.495 m (24.59 ft)
Surface elevation	305 m (1,001 ft)
References	Defra[1]
Location

The reservoirs' catchments are dominated by peatland habitats.^[3] The reservoirs drain into the Calder Valley.

On 19 May 1989 Walshaw Dean Lodge entered the UK Weather Records with the Highest 120-minute total rainfall at 193 mm (7.6 in); however, the Met Office expresses 'reservations' about this record.^[4]

History

To cope with the growing population of Halifax, construction of the reservoirs was put out to tender by Halifax Corporation. The winning bid, for £170,766 (1900) (equivalent to £21.71 million or US$26.98 million in 2023)^[5], was submitted by Enoch Tempest.^[6]

To house the navvies working on construction a temporary shanty town named Dawson City was built, with a narrow-gauge railway, Blake Dean Railway, to transport navvies and construction materials to the sites of the reservoirs.

Access

The reservoirs are on the Pennine Way.