Reservoirs in Nidderdale Timeline: A small reservoir was built at Haden Carr at the very top of the dale. A pipeline was to 1890s carry water 32 miles to Chellow Heights, a water treatment plant near Bradford. 1893 Gouthwaite Reservoir and dam was begun lower in Nidderdale near Wath using stone from Wath Woods Quarry a few hundred metres away. All the stone was transported using horses. A new road was to be built around the north side of the new reservoir. 1899 Heavy rain, just before Gouthwaite Reservoir was finished, filled it to a higher level than expected. It flooded equipment, cabins and the Rayner family home at Gouthwaite Hall. This home was later moved up the hillside, stone by stone. 1901 Gouthwaite Reservoir was completed. It cost £240,000. The dam stands 80 feet high (24 metres) and the reservoir holds 1,600 million gallons of water. 1901 A railway was planned from Pateley Bridge to Lofthouse. This railway was to be a ‘light’ railway with only one line. This rail line would help transport people and materials up the dale to build the other reservoirs. 1904 Work on the new Nidd Valley Light Railway from Pateley to Lofthouse officially began. There would be four stations for passengers: Pateley, Wath, Ramsgill & Lofthouse. A further private rail link from Lofthouse right up to Angram had already been completed to help with the building of Angram reservoir 1904 Work on Angram Reservoir officially began. Buildings for workers and families included: a small village school, houses for the ‘missioner’ and policeman, 3 bungalows, 10 huts for workers, a canteen (with bedrooms above) and 2 shops. 1906 NVLR almost complete 11th September NVLR officially opened to public 1907 1916 Angram Reservoir was nearly complete. Many men who worked on the dam enlisted in the 1st World War straight afterwards. 1917 Angram dam was certified on 4th August, but it took until 1920 to clear the site. It cost £372,760 (over £29 million today). The dam was 200 feet (61 metres) high with a capacity of 1,041 million gallons. 1919 Angram opening ceremony ( March) 1920 Work on Scar House Reservoir began and new village planned and built (see below) 1921 Scar House Reservoir was ‘officially’ started when first sod cut. 1921 The steep rail link (gradient 1:4) to Scar House from Lofthouse was improved and a short tunnel was blasted through rock to straighten a large bend in the track. 1924-1929 The population of Scar Village was at its largest. There were 800 workers in winter, 1100 in summer and a village population of around 2000 people. Village amenities included hot and cold running water, flushing toilets, a grocer, butcher, draper, newsagent, fishmonger, bakehouse, fish and chip shop, 600 seat cinema, recreation room, library, post office, bank, tennis courts, fire brigade, church and school. 1933 Scar House Reservoir was completed. It cost over £2 million (this money would be worth £130 million today, but the cost of building a dam in this location today is likely to be much more). The dam is 233 feet (71 metres) high with a capacity of 2,200 million gallons. Scar House is one of the deepest reservoirs in England. 1936 Scar House Reservoir was officially opened on 7th September 1936. Source: Eileen Burgess ‘The Reservoirs’ in The Book of Nidderdale, Nidderdale Museum Society, Halsgroe, 2003 Philip Atkins, Railways in Nidderdale, Nidderdale Museum Society, 2012. Black and white photos reproduced with kind permission of Nidderdale Museum. .