Knypersley Reservoir

Knypersley Reservoir
Knypersley Reservoir is located in Staffordshire
Knypersley Reservoir
Knypersley Reservoir
Location within Staffordshire
Locationnear Biddulph, Staffordshire
Coordinates53°05′39″N 2°09′27″W / 53.094131°N 2.157384°W / 53.094131; -2.157384
Typecanal reservoir
Head of Trent and Overflow from Serpentine Reservoir
Caldon Canal, River Trent
Basin countriesEngland
Managing agency
Canal & River Trust
Built1825–1827
First flooded
1829
Max. length630 metres (2,070 ft)
Max. width220 metres (720 ft)
Surface area
142,000 square metres (35 acres)
Average depth
6.5 metres (21 ft)
Max. depth12.2 metres (40 ft)
Water volume
930,000 m3 (750 acre⋅ft)
Shore length1
1.8 kilometres (1.1 miles)
Surface elevation
175.81 m (576.8 ft) OD
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Knypersley Reservoir near Biddulph, Staffordshire, England, was built in 1827 to supply water to the Caldon Canal, along with two others at Stanley Pool and Rudyard Lake.[1]

It is the only reservoir along the course of the River Trent[1] and is surrounded by Greenway Bank Country Park.

There are two adjacent lakes at the site, the upper Serpentine Pool feeding the lower Knypersley Pool or reservoir. Designed by Thomas Telford, it was constructed by the waterways engineer James Potter. There were a number of problems both during and after construction with settlement of the dam, and a number of repairs had to be made.[2]

In 2006, substantial improvements were made by British Waterways, and it is currently operated and managed by their successors, the Canal & River Trust, as part of the Caldon Canal group which also includes Stanley Pool and Rudyard Lake.[2][3]

There are several features surrounding the reservoir which date back to the days when the site was part of the landscaped grounds of a stately home, these include a Castellated Tower, Ancient Well and Hermits Stone.

The reservoir and surrounding woodland support a wide range of birds including the mallard, great crested grebe, grey heron, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, chaffinch, grey wagtail, nuthatch and robin.

The fishing rights are owned separately by a consortium of local angling clubs, the Cheshire and North Staffs Angling Association.[4]

The fishery is known for its stocks of large fish, notably bream, but also includes roach, perch, pike and a few carp that due to their low numbers are not easy to catch. The association manages the fishery on a catch and release basis.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Stone, Richard (2005). River Trent. Phillimore. p. 48. ISBN 1860773567.
  2. 1 2 "BBC News Historic reservoir £1.5m revamp". BBC. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "Reservoir watch Canals & Rivers Trust". canalrivertrust.org.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  4. ↑ "Cheshire and North Staffs Angling Association-About Us". cheshireandnorthstaffsaa.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "Victoria & Biddulph Angling Society – Waters". vbas.4t.com. Retrieved 11 May 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)