Langsett Reservoir Construction
(Many photos to be seen in the photo gallery on this website).
A dam was built on the Little Don River and the Little Don Valley was flooded to form the Langsett Reservoir.
A tin village was built for the navvies and their families and never before or since has
the population of the village been so large.
The need for more water supply
Towards the end of the 19th Century there was a growth in the demand for water in the towns of South Yorkshire. The valley of the Little Don or Porter and its tributaries was seen to be ideal by Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley Corporations.
Work began on the dam in 1898 and Langsett would have changed dramatically. There was a large influx of population and a sudden need for more accommodation. Houses were built to accommodate the navvies. These tin huts stretched down the present main road past Bridgeholme. Only one now remains. A hospital and canteen was provided. Stocksbridge Coop had a shop in the village. The school was enlarged and a new Mission room was built.
The Navvy Village
The village had day and Sunday Schools, a mission hall, reading and recreation rooms, canteen, two hospitals and a post office, while grocer, tailor, shoemaker, policeman and fire brigade were also accommodated. Fourteen houses were built each for a family and another eighteen houses each for a hut keeper and his family and eightlodgers. The buildings were constructed of corrugated iron lined with wood. A rough estimate from the numbers of houses was that there were 176 men plus 32 families. In total there was probably an influx of about 500 people into the small village that had in 1891 contained 76 households and a population of 263.
The reservoir was completed in 1904.
The drainage area of the reservoir is 5,203 acres and the average yearly rainfall is 48 inches
The length of the reservoir from the dam to Brook House is 1 mile 240 yards. The depth is 96 feet.
The reservoir covers 120 acres and has a capacity of 1,400 million gallons.