Chasewater - History

History

An Act of Parliament received Royal Assent on 28 March 1794, entitled "An Act for extending the Wyrley and Essington Canal", this authorised a long extension, from Sneyd past Lichfield to Huddlesford Junction on the Coventry Canal, together with the raising of up to £115,000 to complete construction. As part of the Act the Wyrley and Essington Canal Company were required to provide a water source to keep the new length of canal topped up.

A site in the Crane Brook Valley was selected to be dammed in order to create a reservoir which would provide water to the new stretch of canal. Excavations started in the valley floor in 1796 and were used to build earthwork dams along the eastern and western edges of the reservoir. A feeder channel to supply water to the canal was cut through from the eastern dam to the top of the locks at Ogley Hay 1.5 miles to the south east.

The reservoir opened on 8 May 1797, however in June 1799 the eastern dam burst releasing a flood wave downstream along the Crane Brook Valley towards Shenstone, about 4.5 miles to the south east. The cause of the burst was not clear however it was likely that no overflow system was provided and a summer storm caused the dam to overtop and erode the earth embankment. The flood wave caused significant damage with roads and bridges destroyed, fields flooded and livestock killed. The canal company paid out compensation to all who had suffered losses and set about rebuilding the dam. The dam was rebuilt thicker and wider than previously with its inner faces lined with limestone. In the March of 1800 the dam had been rebuilt by Thomas Dadford and the reservoir refilled. A watch house was built by the canal company with a full-time watchman to safeguard against any similar incidents in the future.

In 1840 ownership of the reservoir passed to Birmingham Canal Navigations after the company acquired the Wyrley and Essington Canal Company. During the mid 19th century the coal deposits beneath the reservoir and the surrounding area began to be mined on a large scale due to the Industrial Revolution. The landowner of the area, the Marquess of Anglesey planned to open pits near to the reservoir. The Anglesey Branch of the Wyrley and Essington Canal was created between 1848 and 1850 and made the existing feeder channel navigable. In 1849 the Marquess opened the Hammerwich Colliery, located adjacent to the Anglesey Branch at the toe of the dam. After barely eight years of operation the colliery last drew coal in January 1857, as it became impossible to work due to the influx of sand and gravel caused by working too close to unconsolidated surface deposits. Many other collieries were opened at this time around the reservoir and continued to be mined into the 20th century.

After the opening of the South Staffordshire Railway Line in 1849 rail infrastructure serving the collieries around the reservoir began to expand. John Robinson McClean engineered the rail line linking the South Staffordshire Line to the Hammerwich and Uxbridge Collieries as well as the Norton Branch. McClean leased pits from the Marquess of Anglesey and formed the Cannock Chase Colliery Company in 1859. In 1871 the rail line linking the Norton Branch and the Uxbridge Colliery was built. This line now used by Chasewater Railway involved the building of a causeway across the Crane Brook valley at the western end of the reservoir. Subsidence in the 1890s led to the extension of the western embankment north to the railway causeway and Norton East Road. In the late 19th and early 20th century the eastern dam was raised, with this a new hexagonal valve house and weir was built and the capacity of the reservoir was increased. The increased capacity of the reservoir created Jeffries Swag at the western end of the reservoir.

Under the terms of an Act of Abandonment obtained in 1954, most of the branches of the original Wyrley and Essington Canal were closed, including the branch from Ogley to Huddlesford, which was abandoned in 1955. The closing of this section of canal reduced the demand for water from Chasewater. In 1956 the reservoir is purchased by Brownhills Urban District Council from the British Transport Commission for £5,600 and the reservoir is renamed Chasewater.

During the mid 20th century the majority of mines were closed around Chasewater and the area was becoming increasingly used for leisure purposes. In 1959 a fun fair and restaurant opened on the south shore and sailing and speed boat clubs were formed and in 1961 the pier and the castle were built along the south shore. The 1960s saw the final rail traffic passing over the causeway and the final coal barge leaving Anglesey Basin. In 1984 a Chasewater Master Plan and Development Strategy is published which recognised the nature conservation value of Chasewater and the surrounding land. In 1994 Lichfield District Council became responsible for management of Chasewater and the site became a country park in 1998. Continued investment in the nature and leisure value at Chasewater led to the building of the £1.9 million Forest of Mercia Innovation Centre in 2000 and the restoration of the Chasewater Railway as a heritage line. Following an inspection in 2006 it was discovered that remedial works were needed to the eastern dam. As a result of this the reservoir was drawn down 8 metres (26 ft) in Spring 2010 for works to be complete by Spring 2012. In May 2011 Staffordshire County Council took over ownership of the reservoir to ensure completion of the remedial works.