History of the Huddersfield Water Supplies
By T. W. Woodhead

CHAPTER IV - WATERWORKS COMMISSIONERS

LONGWOOD RESERVOIRS

On June 14th, 1827, a special Act of Parliament was obtained entitled "An Act for supplying with Water the Town and Neighbourhood of Huddersfield in the West Riding of the County of York." The Act points out that "such supply may be obtained from certain Springs or Sources of Water called Nettleton Hill or Maulshead, Royleshead, Bald Royd, Middle Spring, Head Well Spring and Clough Head Springs, or some of them, all within the Township of Longwood and Lindley-cum-Quarmby in the Parish of Huddersfield." To carry out this Act one hundred and twenty Commissioners were to be appointed and are named in the Act including not more than four of the Canal and general Agents of Sir John Ramsden. Each Commissioner had to swear that "I truly and bona fide am possessed of a Personal Estate of the Value of One Thousand Pounds over and above what will pay my just debts." The Commissioners were empowered to borrow money not exceeding the sum of £20,000 and though they incurred all the risks of the undertaking, the interest on the shares should not exceed five per cent., and that when the income from the water rents exceeded fiver per cent, and the necessary expenses, the water rents must be reduced.

The Act further states that certain mills and other works have for some time in part been supplied with water from the above springs; the Commissioners were required to construct and maintain an impounding reservoir across the Longwood Brook at Leys to contain 2,400,000 cubic feet of water available for the purposes of such owners and occupiers (See Figure 25 below). This was the first to be completed and in the Act of 1845 the Commissioners enlarged the reservoir to 6,500,000 cubic feet. The embankment was raised by the Corporation in 1935, to comply with the Safety of Reservoirs Provisions Act, 1930. The compensation in respect of the Longwood Reservoirs is provided for by this reservoir at Leys, the discharge of water from which is regulated by the millowners, hence this does not count in the Waterworks service capacity.

Figure 25. Longwood Reservoirs. On the left, the Compensation Reservoir,
next Longwood Lower, and right, Longwood Upper Reservoirs.

In 1828 the Commissioners began the construction of a reservoir at Longwood, situated at the foot and east side of Scape Goat Hill, at an altitude of 630 ft. O.D. ; this was fed from three separate springs which rise near the top of the hill. This reservoir, the Longwood Lower Reservoir, was completed in 1829, and in earlier records its capacity was given as 20,299,134 gallons, but at present has a capacity of 17,000,000 gallons and covers an area of three and a half acres ; the top water level is 651 feet. The water from this reservoir is piped down to a service tank at Clough Head, Longwood, and to the Spring Street tank, Huddersfield (See Figure 27 below). It has also a connection with the Snodley service tank.

Figure 27. Spring Street Service Tank

The money borrowed under the Act was almost wholly expended. Offices were established in Water Street in 1828 (See Figure 26 below), and on an oval tablet is the inscription:-

Figure 26. Water Works Offices. "Established by Subscription, 1828"

WATER WORKS
Established by Subscription
MDCCCXXIII.

Behind this house is the Spring Street tank, constructed under the 1827 Act ; it is fed from the Longwood Reservoir and has a capacity of 399,400 gallons.

Continued increase in population before long taxed the resources of this new supply, especially during dry periods. In the minute book of the Waterworks Commissioners frequent references are made to scarcity of supply, e.g., on July 12th, 1844, "Resolved that the water be on only two days a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays until further orders." On October 25th the same year, "Resolved that until further orders the water be supplied to the Inhabitants two days a week namely Mondays and Fridays to commence on Monday 28th instant." Later it was increased to three days a week, and on December 13th to four days. In May, 1845, "Resolved that no further applications for water for Trade purposes to be granted until there is a better supply of water."

The following details, abstracted from documents in the Estate Office show the number of tenants supplied with water by the Commissioners in 1844, and the amount of rents.

Number of tenants supplied with water and the rental of :-

In a table of Annual Rental from 1829 to 1843, it is shown that the Water Rents received in 1829 were £842 18s. 7d. But in the years 1839 and 1841 two reductions in the Water Rents of 25 per cent. Each were made (together 50 per cent). In 1842 there was "a decrease in consequence of empty houses and a reduction was made in Brewerys and also a many Dyers gave it up."

In the Commissioners minute book are frequent references to the pressing need for better supplies and eventually application was made to Parliament for an amended Act embracing powers to purchase lands and construct additional works, in order to secure increased supply. In 1845 an Act was passed entitled "An Act to alter, enlarge and amend an Act for supplying with water the Town and Neighbourhood of Huddersfield."

Steps were at once taken for the construction of a larger reservoir adjoining and above the earlier one at Longwood.

The altitude of this, the Upper Longwood Reservoir, completed in 1848, is 700ft. O.D., top water level ; the Reservoir has a capacity of fifty million gallons and covers an area of seven and three quarter acres. The water from the springs is piped direct into this Upper Reservoir, the Lower Reservoir (situated at the foot of the embankment of the upper one and supplied with water from the same source) acts as a service reservoir.

Even this increased supply proved insufficient to meet growing demands, and in July, 1853, Mr. George Crowther, Engineer to the Commissioners, reported that "As the Town is fast increasing in size and population, it is reasonable to infer before the lapse of many years, other Districts and sources for a supply of water must be had resource to….I have fixed upon Meltham as the legitimate District from which Huddersfield ought to have her supplies and I beg most respectively yet strongly to urge you to take formal possession of that district by fixing a Rain Gauge on the Hill west and south-west of the village of Meltham." Meanwhile in January, 1855, the Commissioners decided to purchase lands and bore for water at Longwood "to the west of the conduit from Bunney Clough."

In a "Report on the Longwood Waters" in 1857, Herbert Sugden of Woodsome Lees, gave an analysis of water from Clough Head, Nettleton Hill, Petty Royds, Mauls Head and the New Borings. The following compares the analyses of Clough Head Springs and the new Borings:-

On September 27th, 1861, Mr. George Crowther presented the Report of the visit he made along with a deputation of the Waterworks Commissioners to the Meltham District. In this the Engineer gives details of suggested reservoirs at Blackmoorfoot and Deerhill. A Committee was appointed to consider the proposals and their report was presented on September 21st, 1865, when it was resolved that the report be adopted by this Board and that the necessary steps be at once taken to apply to Parliament for an improved supply of water for the Town and Neighbourhood of Huddersfield.

Meanwhile the Improvement Commissioners were pressing forward an Application for Incorporation of the Borough ; they asked for the support of the Waterworks Commissioners and urged them to delay the application for an Act for further powers to improve the water supply until Incorporation had been achieved and in that event to transfer the works to the Corporation.

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