Baitings Reservoir


Baitings Reservoir is a large water supply reservoir operated by Yorkshire Water close to Ripponden in the West Yorkshire Pennines. It lies in the valley of the River Ryburn and is the higher of two reservoirs built to supply Wakefield with water and was completed in 1956. The lower reservoir is Ryburn Reservoir.

History

Wakefield Corporation Waterworks started impounding the valley of the River Ryburn in the 1930s, with Ryburn Reservoir being completed in 1933. Construction on Baitings took place 20 years later with completion in 1956. The reservoir takes the name of the hamlet that was flooded under the new dam. The hamlet of Baitings, whose name derives from the Old Norse of Beit and Eng, was on an old road linking Yorkshire and Lancashire. During spells of very hot weather and drought conditions, the old packhorse bridge is revealed.
The dam head is a curved structure that is long and over high. The reservoir covers and has a catchment of, and when it is full, it holds over of water. The dam took eight years to complete at a cost of £1.4 million, and is located at above sea level. A tunnel connects reservoirs in valleys to the north with Baitings to allow for the transfer of water. Manshead Tunnel is long and was opened in 1962.
In 1989, the body of a man was found at the bottom of the reservoir during a period of dry weather, when the water was shallower than normal. He had been murdered and his body was weighted down with a pick axe. The crime was featured on Crimewatch and remains unsolved.