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Tue 11 th Feb 2025 |
Bowland on Tap. |
The north west was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution
in the 1770s. The old cottage industries for spinning & weaving
in textiles were being brought together in large dedicated
buildings. This brought the production costs down and initially
these mills were water powered.
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Langden intake. |
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The invention of the steam engine increased production
dramatically and the NW possessed two of the main ingredients.
Coal and water were in abundance but not necessarily in the
right place. The coalfields of Wigan & Chorley helped power the
towns of Blackburn and Preston. During the 1840s the need for
workers in the towns caused the population to move from rural to
an urban economy. Wells and springs in the countryside were fine
for farms and small industries but in the town vast quantities
of water were needed. |
A valuable source of information
by E.C. Oakes. |
In 1850 Preston constructed a 4ft dia brick culvert to bring
water from the River Loud. Unfortunately its purity and quantity
were relatively low and the drought of 1868 meant another source
was needed. During the 1870s the brick culver was extended to
the Trough of Bowland and intakes up Langden and Hareden
valleys. By the 1930s the culvert was beginning to deteriorate
and a new 30in steel pipeline was laid to replace it.
The
town of Blackburn was also expanding rapidly and by the 1880s
additional water was needed. They also tapped into Bowland and
bult intakes in the Brennand valley. A 30in iron pipeline brough
the water to Blackburn and Fishmoor Reservoir. |
Brennand intake 1884. |
Langden culvert in need of repair. |
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At the time of the Industrial Revolution Blackpool was little
more than a village. It soon began to expand when people needed
an escape to the seaside. By 1900 its population was half that
of Preston and rising rapidly. More water was needed and a
Parliamentary Bill in 1912 outlined a new reservoir to the north
of Slaidburn and a 27in dia cast Iron pipeline to the service
reservoirs on the outskirts of Blackpool. Over 500men were
employed on building the reservoir and many lived on site along
with their families in a temporary village of the Hollins. The
scheme was completed in 1932. The reservoir dam flooded the
valley above and the village of Stocks in Bowland or Dalehead
had to be evacuated and demolished. |
The first pipe being laid at Stocks. |
Engineers staff at Stocks. |
Pipe bridge in the Brennand valley. |
Now and then. Milk delivery at the Hollins (2025 at 1928) |
