Whittle Dene reservoirs

A major need for piped water within Newcastle was for fire-fighting, and it was a local insurance company, the Newcastle Fire Office, which provided some of the earliest water supply points. The fire office obtained much of its water from flooded colliery workings in the Coxlodge area, the water being pumped out by a windmill and run via a brick conduit to a reservoir on the Town Moor. Better-planned proposals led to the Whittle Dean Water Company being established in 1845. Reservoirs were planned at Whittle Dene above the village of Ovingham. These reservoirs, completed in 1848, at last gave Newcastle and Gateshead a steady, clean and regular supply of water. At this point the major works…