Hollingworth Lake - Tourist Resort

Tourist Resort

The area developed rapidly after the arrival of the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1839, and the construction of Summit Tunnel in 1841, the longest railway tunnel in Europe at that time. In the 1850s, Henry Newall of Harehill, owner of Harehill Woollen Mill and a recently built gasworks, and his engineer, Mr. Sladen, later the landlord of the Mermaid Inn, saw the potential of the lake as a tourist attraction. They leased the lake from the canal company and created novelty amusements and facilities for boating. Despite very cold water and strong undercurrents caused by water entering and leaving the lake, small rowing boats became popular, and two paddle steamers were operated from 1856. By 1860, there was a rowing club, and a regatta was held in 1862. Two hotels, the Beach Hotel and the Lake Hotel and Gardens, catered for day trippers and weekend visitors. The facilities were advertised by the railway companies, who transported visitors to Smithybridge and Littleborough stations, for the short walk to the lake and its facilities.

The resort became known as the Weighver's Seaport, and Davenport's "Guide to Hollingworth Lake", published from 1860 onwards, extolled its virtues in typical Victorian fashion. .. As you step on the embankment, which is considerable and scarcely looks artificial, the broad expanse of water at once presents itself to your vision. Your first feeling on beholding it is that of astonishment that so vast a basin, lying in that cup of hills, should not have become known to you before. ... You will see Blackstone Edge to the east, towering above its fellows, and preaching from its rocky pulpit sermons to the solitude around.

There were two hotels in the area before the reservoir was built, the Fisherman's Inn, developed from farm buildings at Littleborough, and the Blue Ball at Smithy Bridge, which was demolished and rebuilt in the 1970s. The Beach Hotel built at the start of development had accommodation and refreshment rooms, as well as outdoor platforms illuminated by gaslight which were used for picnic parties and dancing. The Lake Hotel and Pleasure Grounds, to which visitors could walk, travel by carriage around the eastern shore, or cross the lake by steamer, was built in the Swiss style on the opposite side of the lake. The company maintained a booking office at the ferry terminal which was connected to the hotel by a "Subaqueous Telegraph cable", laid on the lake bed. Its grounds were designed by Mr Henderson of Birkenhead, and had a bowling green, a croquet lawn, shrubberies and rustic arbours. Refreshments were served in a small building by the water's edge built for the boat club in 1860. Only the foundations of the hotel remain.

The Mermaid Inn had a 1777 date stone but this was not thought to be original. It closed in 1911. The Lodge Inn at Rakewood provided accommodation and food, and stabling for horses, as did the other hotels. It opened in 1826 and closed in 1917, and became two houses. Peanock Farm, on the south side of the lake, was rebuilt as the Queens Hotel in 1857, and had "a spacious pavillion and dancing stage in the grounds." It has reverted to being a farm. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Hotel, built in 1876, had an outdoor dancing platform covering 18,360 square feet (1,706 m2). When it was demolished, the stone was reused to construct several houses. Now a private house, the Star Inn was in Littleborough near the Fishermans Inn and close to both stations were hotels called the Railway. Smithy Bridge had a beer house called the Royal Oak, and there were unlicenced refreshment rooms around the lake. Many private houses supplied "tea in jugs and sandwiches". The resort catered for 6,000 miners, who arrived at the lake on 13 August 1866 for a conference.

In November 1865, Mr Newhall was notified of "the immoralities which it is stated take place in connection with the dancing stages at Hollingworth." Two months later he replied that if such immoralities were taking place, they were certainly not doing so on any part of the reservoir or land which he was leasing from the canal company.

At the height of its popularity in the late 19th century, there were three lake steamers, and visitors arrived by trains from Manchester, Leeds and Bradford. The rowing club folded after a few years, and the clubhouse was used by the Lake Hotel for refreshments but the club reformed in 1872 and is still active. Fishing developed after 30,000 fish, mostly bream, dace and perch were introduced in 1863. A variety of stalls and lock-up shops, many close to the landing stage for the ferry, were soon trading in sweets, snacks and souvenirs, and on special holidays, there were fortune tellers, conjurers and tricksters. Although photography was in its infancy there were six businesses listed in Davenport's Guide as taking photographic portraits of visitors. Other attractions included a camera obscura, a steroescopic exhibition, and a gymnasium, which was attached to the Beach Hotel. A roundabout with galloping horses, powered successively by a hand winch, a steam engine, a gas engine and finally electricity, remained at the lake until after the Second World War.

The lake's surface froze to a sufficient thickness to allow activities on the ice in 1860 and 1864, when over 2,000 people were recorded as skating. Teams from Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester used the lake for curling matches, and local teams even played cricket. Cricket was played in 1871, and in the 20th century the lake froze in 1902, 1907, 1924, 1929, 1941 and 1947. The lake almost dried up in 1934, when the water level dropped so low that stone farm buildings which had not been seen since 1800 became visible.

The fortunes of the resort improved in 1883, after a law was passed allowing boats to operate on Sundays. Huge crowds flocked to the lake, although a claim of 40,000 visitors on one occasion may be an exaggeration. Swimming became popular, despite the cold water, perhaps inspired by Captain Matthew Webb, who used the lake for training before becoming the first man to swim the English Channel from Dover to Calais in 1875. He competed against G A Jennings of Tunbridge Wells in a 5-hour endurance swim in 1881. Regular swimming competitions were held from 1882, including the mile championship. The distance was covered in 26 minutes 8 seconds by a local man named Nuttall when he swam against McCusker from the United States, in the "World Professional Mile Championship", allegedly watched by a crowd of 20,000.