Hallington Reservoirs

Hallington Reservoirs are located near the small village of Colwell, Northumberland, England on the B6342 road off the A68 road, and 7 miles (11 km) north of Corbridge. Hallington is actually two small reservoirs: Hallington Reservoir West and Hallington Reservoir East, which are separated by a dam. Water was first collected from the area by an aqueduct intercepting streams, which was built between 1857 and 1859 by the Whittle Dean Water Company. The work included a 3,887-yard (3,554 m) tunnel to allow the water to flow by gravity from the collecting area through a ridge of higher ground to the company's main reservoirs at Whittle Dene. The Newcastle and Gateshead Waterworks Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. xxxiv) gave authorisation to build Hallington Reservoir, and also changed the company name to the Newcastle and Gateshead Water Company. After some delays work started on construction in 1869, and the reservoir was completed in 1872. Water was fed from it to Whittle Dene through the existing aqueduct and tunnel. As the populations of Newcastle and Gateshead continued to grow, more water was needed, and a second reservoir was constructed at Hallington, known as the West Reservoir. Land was purchased in 1880, and work started in 1884, using direct labour under the supervision of John Forster, the resident engineer. Despite appalling weather in the winters of 1886 and 1887, and a poor understanding of soil mechanics which affected the construction of the dams, the reservoir was completed in 1889, with filling beginning in May 1889. Hallington received water from other reservoirs constructed further to the north-west, notably at Swinburn, Colt Crag and Catcleugh. The existing aqueduct and tunnel to Whittle Dene was found to be inadequate for the volume of water needed, and a second tunnel, parallel to the first, was constructed between 1898 and 1905. Narrow gauge railways were built to aid the construction of the first reservoir and the second tunnel. The reservoirs are a…