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Chorley Historical and Archaeological Society

 

Jan 2015
Old Leyland Reservoir Memorial Garden,
Clayton Green, Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley
 
Some of the following images are shown on the information board.
In 1980 the reservoir was still in use as a backup. This photo shows it after being emptied for cleaning. The trowel, case and mallet were used to lay the Pumping Station foundation stone on 3rd August 1883 This view of the reservoir interior was taken on 18 Oct 2013 just before it was it was opened to the public
On Fri 18 Oct 2013 a BBC film crew made a short film about the reservoir opening for the evening news. The following morning people came in their hundreds. Peter Marshall was the reporter. During Oct 2013 the reservoir was opened to the public for two weeks. In that time over 20,000 visitors came to admire the reservoir construction and enjoy the constant guided tours of the interior. To conform with Health and Safety requirements all visitors had to sign in and out. The queue would often stretch from Back Lane and down Fiddlers Lane.
The reservoir was visited by many specialist groups, including several Photographic Societies. The photographers were able to use their creative skills to produce a magnificent photographic record. A local group of musicians used the unique acoustics to perform live for the visitors The reservoir was closed to the public for the last time on Sun 3 Nov 2013. These are the last visitors. Last one out turn off the lights.
The reservoir was demolished during Nov 2013 By the end of Nov 2013 the reservoir had been demolished and the bricks crushed to form the foundations for the new houses. By Sep 2014 new houses had been built on the site.
During Nov 2014 a mound, roughly in the shape of the reservoir surface features, was constructed as a memorial garden. The stonework was reclaimed from the original reservoir. The nearest available site was by the A6 road opposite the Pines Hotel at Clayton Green.
    The original Pumping Station on Preston Road (A6) was converted to offices in 1992.

 
Below is the text on the Information Board.
This shaped memorial garden mound is a small scale version of the surface features of the original underground Leyland Water Supply Reservoir that was demolished in 2013.
The stonework and iron pipes were reclaimed from the original reservoir.
It was located 0.95km south (0.6 mile) at the junction of Fiddler’s Lane and Back Lane, Clayton-le-Woods, PR6 7QA.
OS: SD 5771 2261,
lat/long: +53.698251, -2.641882.

No trace of the reservoir remains as the site has now been used for new houses.

The underground reservoir was built during 1883/4 to give Leyland its first public water supply. It was of brick vaulted construction with a capacity of 1,530 cu/m. (336,000 gall).
The water came from a nearby deep well and was pumped, using steam power, up to the reservoir for storage.
It then flowed by gravity through an 8in cast iron pipe to Leyland, 3.8km to the west.

The Pumping Station foundation stone was laid by Henry Dobson, Chairman of the Leyland Local Board on 3rd August 1883. The scheme was completed in 1884 and provided the first supply of clean and reliable piped water to Leyland. It ceased to be used in the 1940s when a larger reservoir was built but was maintained as a back-up facility until the 1980s.

Before demolition in 2013 Kingswood Homes, the housing developer, opened the reservoir to the public for 2 weeks. Over 20,000 people visited in that short period.

The full story of the reservoir can be seen on the Chorley Historical and Archaeological Society website:
www.chorleyhistorysociety.co.uk

Chorley Historical and Archaeological Society gained funding for this project from Chorley Council and Clayton-le-Woods Parish Council. Chorley and District Building Society funded this information board.


 


 


The information board after being unveiled on Wed 20 May 2015
With Dr David Hunt and Rosemary Boyd

If you have travelled along the A6 Preston Road through Clayton-le-Woods opposite the Pines Hotel you may have noticed this mound by the road. It is a 1/4 scale (linear) representation of the surface features of the original Leyland Water Supply Reservoir that was demolished in 2013.

The reservoir was located at the junction of Fiddler’s Lane and Back Lane, Clayton-le-Woods PR6 7QA. No trace of the reservoir remains as the site has now been used for new houses. An illustrated information board is currently being designed by Chorley Historical and Archaeological Society and this will be erected on site.
 

The underground reservoir was built in 1883 to give Leyland its first clean and reliable public water supply.
It was of brick vaulted construction with a capacity of 1,530 cu/m. (336,000 gall).
The water came from a nearby deep well and was pumped, using steam power, up to the reservoir for storage.
It then flowed by gravity through an 8in cast iron pipe via Back Lane and Lancaster Lane to Leyland, 3.8km to the west.
As the Victorian Industrial Revolution gained momentum one of the main restrictions on progress was the inadequacy of water supplies.
The majority of water in towns was obtained from unreliable local wells and there were frequent outbreaks of sickness attributed to its poor quality.
Industry was also affected as water supplies were insufficient for its needs.


The underground reservoir photographed in 1980

Before demolition in 2013 the site was opened to the public for 2 weeks by Kingswood Homes, the building company. Over 20,000 people visited in that short period.


People queuing to visit the reservoir in Oct 2013

This is the view that visitors had in Oct 2013

After demolition the site was cleared for building.

Two houses now occupy the site where the reservoir used to be.