Embsay Reservoir

The reservoir was built by Skipton Urban District Council to service the needs of a rapidly rising population in the area.^[4] Sanctioned by the Skipton Water and Improvement Act 1904 (4 Edw. 7. c. civ),^[5][6] forty acres of Embsay Pasture were compulsorily purchased from the Duke of Devonshire in 1905, and work started almost immediately,^[7] with the engineering contract being awarded to the specialist company, Messrs G H Hill and Sons.^[8] The construction contract at the amount of £47,164 went to Messrs. Harold Arnold and Son, of Doncaster.^[9]

During construction of the reservoir, engineers and 150 of the c. 200 navvy workers employed were accommodated in the Whitfield Syke cotton-mill on the north side of the reservoir.^[10] In the mill's warehouse, the Navvy Mission Society, concerned about the welfare of the workers, was allowed to establish a chapel and a reading room.^[11]

Construction of the embankment used locally excavated puddle clay, and stones were quarried from below the nearby Embsay Crag, the quarry still visible as a scar in the landscape today.^[12][13]

The reservoir was completed before the end of 1909, and the reservoir was full by 10 January the following year. It was officially opened on 21 June 1910.^[14] No houses were submerged as part of the project, but the old Whitfield Syke Mill was demolished.^[15] Today, the mill's warehouse, consecrated as a chapel, stands as England's last physical link to the Navvy Mission Society.^[16][17]

The reservoir is used for leisure activities such as sailing, angling,^[18][19] and walking, and is the home of the Craven Sailing Club.^[20][21] There are car parking facilities for visitors.^[22]

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