WATER 05

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Stanley
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WATER 05

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WATER 05

As soon as Whitemoor waterworks was commissioned and in full flow it became obvious that good as the supply was it was going to be overtaken by the demands of industry and a growing population. By 1919 a site for a new supply from Elslack Moor had been identified and in 1919/1922 the Park Hill service reservoir was enlarged and supplied from a filter house on Elslack Beck. In 1923 a four inch main was laid to Coates Ward. A contract was signed with a firm called Hayes of the Canal Wharf, Wharf Street, Lancashire Hill, Stockport on the 29th November 1926 for the construction of a concrete basin reservoir lined with asphalt on Elslack Moor, price £139,346. The final price rose to £151,696 after problems were encountered with the geology. The opening ceremony was on 5th of March 1932 and it’s worth recording that there was one death during the construction, the Craven Herald of 4th of January 1929 reported the death of Charles Edward Muxlow of Eshton as a result of an earth slip.
There you have it. When you next turn the tap on or flush your toilet give a thought to all the work and investment that went into providing an adequate supply and investing in the network of pipes and sewers that makes your life so easy compared to the days when you would have had to go to the nearest well with a bucket or put up with the disadvantages of the pail toilet in the backyard. I lived under those conditions when I first went farming in Warwickshire in 1953, we had our own well and my first job every morning was to use a hand pump to lift about 300 gallons of water into the service tank in the attic. Our toilet was outside and a straight drop into a midden that was shared with the animals and had to be carted away onto the fields. In the late 1950s the same conditions existed at Abel Taylor's at Green Farm on Gisburn old track, the pail from the lavatory was emptied into the covered midden in the yard and eventually went out onto the meadows. Apart from what the Victorians called the 'noxious effluvia' you were never alone with a midden toilet. You could hear the rats scuttling about beneath you!
I think the pump house at Whitemoor is now a private residence but I am sure the Yorkshire Water Authority will still maintain the bores as a resource using automatic electric submersible pumps. Elslack reservoir still supplies the service reservoir at Park Hill and in addition we are connected to the wider network of mains pipes.
One last point about the original scheme executed by the Barnoldswick Local Board and later BUDC, it was possible to fund it with local money and repay the loans from the rates. In those days of local autonomy money made in Barlick stayed here and we controlled it. I realise we can't go back but there was a lot to be said for that system!

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'Night soil' collection wasn't the best job in the world!
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Re: WATER 05

Post by wjd665s »

For a few years, I have known from old family documents that my grandad (my mum's Dad) was working in Elslack around 1928 / 29 - see Insurance Record card attached.

I had assumed, that he was probably working on a farm as the c/o address is a Mrs Duncan. But looking at Google Earth again tomight, it occurred to me, could he have been working on the construction of the reservoir there? A bit more Googling led me to this board and sure enough, the dates when he started working in Elslack, 26 March 1928 could indeed be consistent with the construction phase if it opened in March 1932.

As backgroumd, he was an Irishman from near Buncrana in Co Donegal in the far north of Ireland. Regretably, he was apparently in an accident with a tram at some point while he was in England, and I think as a result of these injuries, he was dead by 1930, less than two years later.

I can't seem to find any record of who Mrs Duncan was - and wondered if anyone here had info or some knowledge of the contractor and the workforce who must have been put up locally?
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Re: WATER 05

Post by Stanley »

Sorry, I can't help you, all new to me but some of the ladies might pick this up. they are better than me at genealogy.
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Re: WATER 05

Post by Wendyf »

I've had a search over breakfast and have managed to find the 1928 Electoral Roll for Elslack. Your grandad isn't listed but there are a number of people living at Duncan's Hostel belonging to Bertha Duncan. It doesn't tell us where that was exactly but as Elslack is such a small village there aren't many places to choose from! There is another hostel in the village so I think you are correct to assume they were involved in construction of the reservoir.
I'll look both sides of 1920 to see how long the hostel existed and try to find more about Bertha Duncan. Fascinating!

1928 Electoral Roll Elslack.
40759_1831101881_0547-00188.jpg
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Re: WATER 05

Post by Wendyf »

There is a newspaper report of a drunken brawl between 2 construction workers which took place in a hut so its possible that the hostels were temporary huts.
Also found this newspaper article which names the construction company as Hayes (Stockport) Ltd.
snapshot_www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk_1631176083889.png
And I was going to get down to some cleaning this morning! :smile:
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Re: WATER 05

Post by wjd665s »

Wendy

Thank you so much for this speedy response. How interesting that there was a hostel. I do see "Frank Spencer" was staying there - Oooh Betty!

Will be interesting to see if anyone knows where the "hostel" was. I wonder if the relevant water authorities have records of the contractor(s) appointed to construct the reservoir. Something I should make enquiries into.

And I agree, definitely fascinating. Appended to his card was a small handwritten "shopping list" which is attached - an insight into what a working man at that time deemed necessary...
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Re: WATER 05

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Sorry to have wrecked today's cleaning routine. Men fighting eh - who would have thought it?
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Re: WATER 05

Post by Wendyf »

By 1930 the numbers had grown, three hostels now and three Mcloughlins!
40759_1831101881_0549-00223.jpg
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Re: WATER 05

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Hi again, I see one of the residents of the hostel was a Joseph Grant - that is another of the primary surnames from Inishowen, Donegal where my grandad was from. We're making some enquiries to see if that Joseph was indeed related to the neighbours a few houses along from the farm he lived on (and which is still in the family's ownership today). Attached is a pic of the cottage he was born in and went to work in Elslack from.
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Re: WATER 05

Post by wjd665s »

What a find - three McLaughlins including my grandad Con!

Many thanks for this research. I wonder what the recruitment process was to get them across there?

Donegal men, have traditionally been involved in large public works projects worldwide, especially tunnelling. His son, my Uncle Dan, worked on the post-war construction of the large wind tunnels at the start of the "jet age" at Twinwood Farm / Thurleigh north of Bedford just after WW2: https://www.bahg.org.uk/RAEBedford.htm
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Re: WATER 05

Post by Wendyf »

I can't identify Mrs Duncan, it's not a local name and I imagine she was someone who travelled with the work.
We have a plan of the proposed work on the reservoir in the Earby & District Local Hstory Society archive but sadly it is inaccessible at the moment due to the community centre being closed.
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Re: WATER 05

Post by wjd665s »

Hi

Just found these two files listed on the National Archives website - the more interesting one seems to be in the Lancashire Archives:

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov. ... 2f65cfb3ee

And this one at Kew:

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov. ... r/C5002298

I reckon I need to book a trip to both locations :)

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Re: WATER 05

Post by Stanley »

Nice to see Wendy has helped. I knew about Hayes from Stockport. I'll look for bigger pieces about the reservoir and bump any I find.
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Re: WATER 05

Post by Stanley »

What lovely research that last article on water triggered. Bumped again as it is essential history.
(Thanks Wendy for all the work you put in.... :biggrin2: )
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