Mini-Histories

These began as Facebook postings on the Hebden village community page, but have been modified to include further information that has been contributed by locals. Thank you all...

1. Milestone - c. 1700
2. Roadside ditch stones - 1760s?
3. Hebden's lime kilns - 18th C?
4. The Paraffin House - before 1846
5. Hebden's bridge markers c. 1827
6. Hebden's boundary stones - c. 1829
7. The Church Bell - 1847
8. Mossy Moor Reservoir leats - c. 1855
9. The Miner's Bridge - c. 1857
10. The Powder House - c. 1860s
11. Water troughs on Main Street - 1862
12. The Post Office and Clarendon c. 1875
13. School turret clock mechanism c. 1875
14. William's Bell turnstile gate 1905
15. Horse and cart outside the Post Office c. 1908
16. Charabancs outside the Post Office c.1912
17. Hebden Parish Council versus the Stobbs brothers - 1920
18. Children's playground - 1930
19. Longshaw Level and the Craven Water Board c. 1965

Milestone

This fine milestone, now relocated close to Rosemary Barn, is probably a survivor of the pre-turnpike route to Grassington. It may have been erected some time after 1697 when it became the responsibility of the township's Surveyor of Highways to provide signposts at cross-highways and on the moors.

Chris Foster is to be congratulated on the very fine photograph which manages to pick out the detail.

Roadside Ditch Stones

Between the entrances to Craig Mar and Thors Ghyll, there is a broad ditch running down the south side of the main road. It is now unmaintained, and some of it is barely discernible. The bottom has silted up and is filled with the debris of many decades; the banks have lost their definition; and much of it is obscured by trees and other vegetation. Near the top and bottom of this section of ditch, are three large stone blocks resembling gatepost pillars - typically about 1.2 metres long, 0.4 metres wide, and 0.2 metres deep.

Between these three obvious stones, a bit of prodding found similar stones buried in the ditch. In all, six have been identified.

These stones were almost certainly placed in the ditch some 250 years ago, when the turnpike was built in the 1760s. At that time the road surface would have been vulnerable to damage from both the rain and from the water draining off the fields. It was necessary to ensure that the water ran off the road easily, and to carry it away in ditches dug for the purpose. However, Hebden Bank is a steep section of road, and the energy of any significant flow would soon have damaged the ditch. The stones were put across the ditch to slow down the flow, and dissipate some of the energy.

The photograph above taken in the 1900s shows that there were originally a large number of these stones. At least six can be seen in a 60 metre-long section, only two of which have been found, so there were originally probably a dozen or so between Craig Mar and Thors Ghyll. Evidence of the ditch below Thors Ghyll would have been destroyed in 1827 when the turnpike bridge was replaced by the present bridge and the road level raised. They must have represented a considerable investment when the costs involved in their cutting, carting, and installation are all taken into consideration.

Lime Kilns of Hebden

Background

Well over a thousand field lime kilns have been recorded in the Yorkshire Dales. They were used to heat limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO3) to a temperature of up to 900°C to form quick lime (calcium oxide, CaO). Most of them were built in the eighteenth or early nineteenth century.

The lime had a myriad of small-scale uses. When added to water, it formed slaked lime which was used as a mortar; spread on floors to prevent rising damp; and used on the exterior of buildings to improve their weatherproofing. Lime was spread on pastures to improve their quality; eggs were stored in it to stop them from going off and last through the winter months; cereal seeds were covered in lime before planting to stave off fungal infection; and it was used to treat various livestock ailments.

According to the earliest maps, there were just three lime kilns in the township, only one of which is now easily identifiable as such. One was close to the beck and Tinker's Lane; one was above Scala Falls; and the third was along the Skuff. All three are marked on the first edition of the 1853 edition of the Ordnance Survey 6" map, and two are marked on the 1846 tithe map (the tithe map didn't cover the area where the Tinker's Lane kiln was located).

Tinker's Lane Lime Kiln

Grid reference: SE 0262 6521

This lime kiln was located above the true right bank of Hebden Gill, just over the wall, and about 110 metres from the bottom wall corner of Tinker's Lane. There is little to see of it now - just a pile of gritstone boulders. It is not actually on limestone - it is likely that the limestone was carted from the quarries further up the gill in Grassington township. There is a track from the beck leading to behind it, which would have allowed carts or sledges to unload their limestone load into the top of the kiln. Most lime kilns are made with limestone blocks, but this was made of gritstone which was more readily available than limestone.

Knowles Land Lime Kiln

Grid reference: SE 0250 6390

This lime kiln is easy to spot (when not covered in bracken). It is on the edge of the valley on Knowles Land above Scala Falls. It isn't actually on limestone, but a built-up pony track climbs up from the waterfall to the lime kiln, so it is likely that either the waterfall was used as a quarry, or the blocks that had fallen naturally from the limestone outcrop were used. It was probably built high on the ridge to ensure a good draught. It, too, is constructed from gritstone blocks.

Scuff Road Lime Kiln

Grid reference: SE 0313 6195

The only evidence for the Scuff Road lime kiln is a depression and a couple of limestone blocks, but the limestone quarry used to service the kiln is very evident. It was probably made with limestone blocks

The Paraffin House

The Paraffin House is a familiar sight, and not usually given a second thought. But it is not without interest, being the sole survivor of the Main Street from before its redevelopment in the 1860s. It is marked on the 1846 Tithe Map as a 'pig cote', and so is well over 170 years old. At the time it belonged to Daniel Bowdin, who also owned that half of the Bridge House complex which adjoins the junction. Daniel was a farmer and grocer, and the grocery business was built up over the next 60 years by his son Ralph into a large general store and corn merchants selling stuff as diverse as lobsters and black powder. When it and Bridge House were sold to Jeremiah Stockdale in 1906, it was described as a petroleum store. In the 1960s it was used by the Bonds of the Post Office to store paraffin, and later it was used by Hargreaves to store fuel for their coaches. It still contains an ancient fuel tank.

Bridge Markers

Hebden is fortune in having two sets of bridge markers - one associated with the main road bridge, and the other with the Brook Street bridge. Bridge markers go back to the day when most roads were maintained by the wapentakes - the then unit of local government. Major bridges, however, were the responsibility of the West Riding. The markers delineated the limit of the responsibility of the West Riding.

When the new bridge was built in 1827, the West Riding erected bridge markers 300' from the centre of the bridge to mark the limit of their responsibility. One is obvious, and may be seen on the grass opposite the Clarendon, being an upright shaped stone with a cross on it. This had to be relocated when the road was straightened in 1969. The other is on the verge above the track down to Thors Ghyll. It is similar, but is less easy to see as it is being swallowed by a sycamore. They are both marked on the 1846 Tithe Map.

Such markers are not uncommon in the area. Similar ones may be seen at Dibbles Bridge, Bolton Abbey, Conistone, and Kettlewell, inter alia.

The Brook Street bridge markers are made of cast iron, and are both in plain sight. One is on the corner of Bridge House, and the other is on the other side of the beck by the barn. Their date is unknown, but they have been put up as a consequence of the 1803 Bridge Act, although they do not appear on the 1846 Tithe Map. The bridge itself was built in 1757. They have recently been painted white by the Parish Council, with the lettering picked out in black.

Hebden's Boundary Stones

The wall built about 1600 to separate Hebden from Grassington stopped at the top of Bolton Gill, and the location of the boundary between there and beyond was to become a subject of contention, especially so because of the importance of the underlying lead ore resources. One map drawn in the 1780s showed the boundary running from Blea Gill to Tag Bail Hill, with other maps showing the boundary well to the west. In 1808, the Hebden freeholders put up boundary stones between Blea Beck and Bolton Gill running over Sandhaw, which were soon pulled down by the Duke of Devonshire's agents.

In 1829 a pragmatic solution was agreed - the boundary would follow the Duke's Low Water Course from Bolton Gill to Blea Gill, and from there up to Henstone Band. It is obvious from looking at the boundary on the map that Hebden lost a lot of land - nearly 67 hectares. To mark it, a set of seven fine boundary stones were emplaced across the moor to Blea Gill. Unfortunately, a wall has since been built on the Hebden side, and some have sunk into the bog, so they are not always that easy to find. The fine example below, however, is the first at the head of Bolton Gill, and the 'H' and 'G' for 'Hebden' and 'Grassington' can be easily seen.

From Blea Beck the boundary was marked with posts, except near Henstone Band where three more boundary stones were emplaced. This one marks the north-west corner of the township at Henstone Band.

The Church Bell

St. Peter's has a fine bell hanging in its tower. Although appearing in the original building cost estimates, it was not actually cast until 1847 - six years after the Church was consecrated. It was cast under the supervision of Charles and George Mears, who were the master founders of the famous Whitechapel Foundry between 1844 and 1860. They were also responsible for casting "Big Ben" eleven years later. Everything apart from the pull rope appears to be original. It rings at a frequency of about 470 Hz, or approximately b♭″ in the Helmholtz pitch notation, and has a base diameter of 20" (50.8 cm) and a height of 16" (40.64 cm).

Mossy Moor Reservoir Leats

It is believed that Mossy Moor Reservoir was originally built by Joseph Mason in about 1850 to help maintain a constant supply of water to power the textile mill. It was probably originally fed just by runoff from the moor, but he must have also been responsible for digging the top leat running from Bolton Gill, as it is marked on the 1856 Mining Lease map, which was surveyed before Bolton Gill Engine Shaft was excavated. However, when the shaft was sunk, the Hebden Moor Mining Company required a considerable amount of power to drive the lifts and pumps in the shaft, and for the dressing floor just below. Their solution required considerable engineering and investment, but it resulted in the last word in reusable energy. They built a system of leats, or water channels, over 2.3 km long that took water all the way from behind the Bolton Engine Shaft to Mossy Moor Reservoir, and then returned it at a lower level to where some of it was used to power a waterwheel on Bolton Haw Side which in turn provided power to the engine shaft, and the rest of which was taken to the dressing floor on the level below engine shaft. It all eventually finished up back in Bolton Gill.

In the above Google Earth image north is to the left. Bolton Gill engine shaft is on the left and Mossy Moor Reservoir is on the right. The top red line shows the path taken by the upper leat that carried water from Bolton Gill to the reservoir, and the mauve line shows the path taken by the leat carrying water from the reservooir outlet channel to the waterwheel and dressing floor. The lower blue line shows the leat that fed the waterwheel, and the upper blue line shows a short-cut from the upper leat to the waterwheel. The reason for the offset in the two lines is that it is thought that the waterwheel was moved. The orange line shows the tail race from the waterwheel returning the water to Bolton Gill via Bolton Haw Side Tunnel. From above the water wheel, the lower leat (mauve) divides into two. One drops water directly into the tailrace, and the other takes it round the corner to the engine shaft dressing floor.

A considerable amount of effort was put into developing the leat system, and much of it is still intact and in many places obvious on the ground. Usually is was constructed as a slab-covered stone-walled channel. Occasionally, because of the topography, it was necessary to bury it, but it can still be traced as a natural line through the fields, and occasionally they just dug ditches. Almost all of it can still be followed without difficulty, although much of the section running along the valley to the crushing plant is no longer visible although enough of it remains to show the line it took. It is not obvious where this section turns into the valley.

It is not known for how long the leat system was in use, but only the top leat is marked on the mining company's 1866 map of its infrastructure.

The Miner's Bridge

When the Hebden Moor Mining Company began to exploit the lead veins of Bolton Gill in 1853, there was no track up Hebden Gill, the only access to the site from Hebden being up the Raikes to the left of Eddy's Barn at Hole Bottom onto the moorland pasture at the top, and then back down towards Bolton Gill.

Better communications were required, and in 1855 the company improved access from Hebden to Hole Bottom, which including cutting through the moraine at Scale Haw to ease the gradient.

However, they needed access to the other side of the beck from Hole Bottom to enable them to drive a track up the east bank of the gill. They applied in October 1856 to the Duke of Devonshire's agent, Stephen Eddy, to purchase a small plot of land on the west bank, and he, sensing a seller's market, offered to sell it for an extortionate £50, which the company declined.

By July 1857, the price had fallen to £15, and it was purchased. This enabled them to build the beautiful and iconic Miners’ Bridge, and hence drive their track up to the mine.

This photograph, probably dating from about 1890, is in David Joy’s collection.

The Powder House

So - what do we know about the Powder House? Not a lot, really. The name tells us that it was probably used to store explosives, and the rest of the evidence appears to confirm that purpose. Its architecture is similar to other powder houses in the area; it's protected by a formidable lightning rod; and it was built well away from other buildings.

Map evidence implies that it was built some time between 1850 and 1888, which was the period when the local lead mining industry was most active, but its location makes it unlikely that it was anything to do with the Hebden Moor Mining Company, who were based at the time in Bolton Gill. We do know from his catalogues that Ralph Bowdin's sold black powder from his general store in Bridge House, and we also know from the Grimwith Mining Company accounts that he supplied them with black powder in 1872. All in all, on current evidence it is likely that Ralph Bowdin was responsible for building it in the 1860s.

Water troughs on Main Street

The troughs on Main Street make lovely plant beds, but they also hold a significant place in the history of the village. In the 1850s Hebden was a dirty place, and rife with cholera. People had to walk several hundred metres for all their domestic water - probably from Nanny Spout, and Low Green was largely a festering tip. In 1862, John Varley (1832-1903), a civil engineer then living in Burnsall, was employed to pipe a water supply into the village. We believe that the holding tank was behind the Old Tip, and the pipe was bought down Main Street, and plumbed into three new troughs which supplied domestic water for most of the village. If you take a closer look at the troughs, you will see the inscribed date, and where the water supply emerged.

The water supply was later augmented in 1910 when water was piped down from Brown Haw Well on Edge Top Lane into the same reservoir. See here for a map of that installation.

The wall enclosing Low Green behind the troughs was built later, in 1869, by the trustees of the Hebden Recreation Ground Charity.

The troughs are owned by the Parish Council.

The Post Office and Clarendon

This is the picture of The Clarendon and the Post Office when they were next door to each other, in what we now know as Bridge House. It was printed on the back of the 1888 edition of Ralph Bowdin's Almanac, but it must have been drawn between 1859 when the Post Office opened, and 1879 when The Clarendon was renamed 'The Jolly Miner'.

Ralph Bowdin ran a large general store from the building on the right hand side, selling everything from lobsters to black powder, and which had been providing postal office services since before 1870. The original Clarendon Inn is on the left. The Clarendon Inn as we know it, I believe to have been originally built in Georgian times at the time of the turnpike, and rebuilt on more-or-less the same footprint in the last half of the nineteenth century. It was originally called the New Inn, but was renamed The Oddfellows when it became the designated meeting place for Hebden's Star of Hope Oddfellows lodge in 1851. It became The Clarendon in about 1888. The Clarendon Inn in the drawing was renamed The Jolly Miners about 1878, and in 1879 one traveller described it thus: "the lugubrious girl who waited upon us evidently had a keen eye for business, for she charged us sixteen pence for two bottles of ginger ale and a very small loaf of bread with an infinitesimal piece of butter. She must have had a shrewd notion that they wouldn't lose much when they lost our custom and consequently determined to take as much out of us as possible." The Jolly Miners was bought by Ralph Bowdin in 1881, who closed it down and turned it into a warehouse. The Post Office had moved moved to Green Terrace by 1894.

The School Clock

The School clock has graced the village with its chimes for over 140 years. It has a typical turret clock mechanism made by John Bailey of Salford in about 1875. It hadn't been installed when the school opened in August 1874, but we can be pretty sure about the date as the company changed its name to W.H. Bailey in 1876.

It was considered to be a village amenity before the school was sold, and the Parish Council paid someone to wind it up.

It was totally refurbished in 2000 by the Cumbrian Clock Company as a partly funded Millennium project, when it was under the care of Iain and Amanda Geldard. At the same time the opportunity was taken to install a mechanism to prevent the clock from chiming at night.

With thanks to Martyn de Montfort for the photograph of the mechanism.

William's Bell turnstile gate

The footpath leading through Low Green from opposite Church Lane was used by workers to get to the textile mill and predates the Low Green wall, which was built in 1869. It is not clear what provision was made to negotiate the wall when it was built. It was probably either a step-through stile or a wooden stile, but whatever it was, on April 19th 1905 the Parish Council resolved to replace it with a turnstile gate, and commissioned the local blacksmith, William Bell (1849-1931) and local stone mason Stephen Pickles (1848-1913) to undertake the task.

The finished product was an example of fine craftsmanship which has stood the test of time. William Bell was responsible for the wrought iron work, which included the hinge supports, the gate, and the cage, and Stephen Pickles was responsible for its installation which included rebuilding the wall, shaping the end of the wall to accommodate the cage, and providing a shaped stone base. William Bell charged two guineas for his work, and Stephen Pickles £1 4s 9d for his.

In 2021 Al Nettleton made a generous donation to the village in memory of his parents Francis and Avril, who for many years had a second home in Chapel Lane. With Al's approval, the Parish Council resolved to spend some of the money on restoring the gate. The iron work was repaired using traditional blacksmithing techniques by Paul Walker of Grassington. Chris Foster gave freely many hours of his own time repainting the ironwork with traditional linseed paint, and leading the gaps in the hinge support, and Michael Hargraves contributed freely his muscle to reinstall the gate, and his pointing skills to tidy up the stonework and remortar the cage supports. The work was completed at the end of June and a plaque installed commemorating both William Bell and Al Nettleton's parents.

Henry Bowdin in his cart outside the Post Office

This fine photograph, courtesy of Liz Weatherby and Graham Atkinson, shows Henry Bowdin (driver) and his son Ralph (the little boy) outside the Post Office in about 1908. At the time, Henry was a carter, although he was later to become a farmer. Ralph was to later farm at Rosebank Farm, and died in 1973. The lady standing in the Post Office doorway is likely to be Jane Annie Tattersall, who would have been about 27, with her 3-year-old son Charles on her hip. Thomas Francis Hammond Tattersall and Jane Annie ran the shop at this time.

Note the post box in the window of the Post Office, and the hay rakes on display outside the shop indicating that it was summer. Working class Edwardian fashion is also on display: small-peaked caps; high closure four-button sack coats; metal heel plates on the boots; slim trousers; and an attached collar for Henry Bowdin, and no collar for the other gentleman.

Charabancs outside the Post Office

This photograph shows a party from the CHA Travel Lodge outside the Post Office setting off on a charabanc excursion, and dates from the 1910s. The charabancs were from Chapman's Royal Mail and Bus Service, a large carriage and coach company based in Grassington. In addition to carrying the Royal Mail into the Dale and running bus services, they took advantage of the influx of tourists resulting from the opening of the railway station in 1902, and diversified into running excursions. At first, they used horse-drawn wagonettes, but in 1905 they purchased the first of five large motorised charabancs. The ones in the photograph are 36 horsepower chain-driven Commer 28-seaters, with hard rubber tyres. As you can see, it was also well ventilated. If you look carefully, there is a guard fixed to the seats preventing the passengers at the end from falling out. The chap standing at the front is thought to be the excursion guide.

Parish Council versus George and Albert Stubbs, 1920

Not all is always sweetness and light in a village. In 1920, Hebden Parish Council took two local residents, brothers George Stobbs (1883-1949) and Albert Stobbs (1874-1966), to the County Court, to prevent them from claiming rights over Low Green, and claiming that section on the east side of the beck.

The story is associated with the triangular garden below the south-east side of the bridge. This is a peculiarly-shaped piece of land, but was part of a field that was chopped into two when the turnpike road bridge was constructed in about 1760. It had been purchased by the brothers' maternal grandfather about a hundred years ago, and had been in their family ever since. It was used as an allotment, and they kept hens on it.

The trouble started in about early 1917 when the Parish Council expressed concern about the hens straying onto Low Green, and a gate which had been opened up between Low Green and the garden allowing the hens access. A little while later, as a response to a conversation between the two parties, the Parish Council further requested a wayleave for the footpath across Low Green to the garden. The Stobbs refused, and declared that they had a right of way over Low Green, and that they owned the land between the garden and the bank. They then twice knocked down a fence built by the Parish Council blocking the entrance in the garden wall.

Solicitors became involved, and the Hebden Parish Council commenced proceedings against the two brothers. This was not well-received by many in the village, and at an Annual Parish Meeting in October 1920 a resolution was carried by eighteen votes to one for the Parish Council to stop proceedings, the only dissenter being Thomas Perks, the chairman of the council. But the proceedings continued because, as Perks told the court, "He was not satisfied with that expression of public opinion".

Despite a long list of local residents appearing for the defence, the Parish Council won their case on all counts, and were awarded damages and costs.

Newspaper reports of the proceedings may be found here.

The Children's Playground on Low Green

When the Parish Council was formed in 1894 and took on responsibility for the Recreation Grounds, their activities were confined to maintenance, planting trees and shrubs, and providing seats. In November 1929, however, they agreed to provide a children's playground. An area was allocated on the north side of the school, its northern boundary being determined by the gate into Low Green and the southern boundary by the school wall. W. Patrick, joiner from Grassington, was commissioned to build a fence, a set of swings, and a see-saw, and a sandpit was also provided. Access into the enclosure was via a wooden stile. It opened in about June 1930. A second swing was added later in the year. The photograph above is probably the earliest one taken of the playground - you can (just) see one set of swings, the sandpit, and the stile. The see-saw is probably in the shadow of the tree. There is only one set of swings, so it must have been taken within a couple of months of its opening.

The playground was, at first, jealously guarded by the Parish Council. In the August of that year the Clerk was directed to "write to the Matron of the Bradford Children’s Holiday Homes that the mothers and children refrain from visiting the Hebden’s children’s playground which is provided by the Parish Council for Hebden children only". The Holiday Home in question was the original Linton Camp. The following spring they resolved "that a notice be put up in the Children's Playground to the effect that the swings, see-saw and sandpit are restricted to the children of Hebden not over 14 years of age". The Parish Council were probably not entitled to restrict access in this way, as the Enclosure Award established the recreation grounds "as a place for Exercise and Recreation for the Inhabitants of the said Township and Neighbourhood".

Over the next twenty five years, the equipment and fence were maintained, but then in October 1955 the Parish Council deciding that the swings were in a dangerous condition, dismantled the equipment, removed the fencing and returned the playground back to pasture. This was not a popular move, and in the December a request was made by the local government electors at the Annual Parish Meeting for it to be restored. The following March the Parish Council commissioned its reconstruction at a cost of £48, and lined the sandpit with breeze blocks.

In 1967, the Parish Council upgraded the playground with a set new swings, and a splendid all-metal slide. The latter would never pass health and safety standards today, but it has proved popular with children for over 50 years.

The two toddler swings were installed in 1989 following a generous donation of £1,054 from Vera Rusmanis (1926-1999), who lived at Maryan cottage for over 30 years. Her husband Fricis (1912-1984), known as Francis, was a political refugee who had to flee his Baltic home state which he had previously represented in the Olympics. They are fondly remembered for collecting their drinking water from Nanny Spout in two large blue containers, every evening.

The Parish Council refurbished the playground in 2000. Access to the playground had previously been only through a step-through stile, and a perambulator-friendly gate was created at the northern corner of the wall to allow easier access. Safety tiles were laid in strategic places. The whole project cost £1022, partially funded by grants totalling £760 from the Craven District Council and Norh Yorkshire Small Project Fund.

Longshaw Level and the Craven Water Board

Longshaw Level (or Lanshaw Level as it is incorrectly called by Yorkshire Water) is the first mine level reached when walking up Hebden Gill, and is situated just short of the Mossy Moor Reservoir outlet. It was excavated by the Hebden Moor Mining Company in about 1863 to intercept three mineral veins. These were reached in 1866 after about 350 yards, but were found to be barren so the venture was abandoned. However, the level had intercepted a small stream, which the company took advantage of by piping it down the valley to power the waterwheel near the Miners' Bridge.

In about 1962, a new mains sewage system and a rising population meant that the water supply was no longer adequate for the village, and the Craven Water Board decided that it would be a good idea to augment the supply with up to 150,000 gallons a day of water captured from the adit. A river flow-gauging station was first constructed downstream with a V-notch weir for measuring lower flow levels alongside a 3.35m wide Crump profile weir for measuring higher flow levels. Interestingly, the land on which this was built was part of the township quarry, and in June 1964 the Parish Council agreed to sell 0.044 acres to the water board, only to be told a year later that it wasn't theirs to sell! An underground reservoir was required in front of Longshaw Level to store the water. Unfortunately, a large spoil tip of the excavated stone lay where they wanted to site it.

The spoil heap was bulldozed flat, which accounts for the 'parking area' outside the level, and the reservoir excavated. The surplus material was then dumped on the beck side of the track on the downstream side of the Rocking Stone wall (upstream of the flow-measuring station), some 200 metres away, which accounts for the incongruous flat area of spoil where people often picnic.

A water treatment plant was built in the Hole Bottom car park, and the new supply was switched on in 1966, but there were soon complaints about the excessive hardness of the water. A water softening plant was installed, but it never really solved the problem.

In the end it was deemed unwise to be pouring water from a lead mine down the throats of the locals, (although to be fair, the water from Longshaw Level was far less contaminated than that from Duke's Level, which was also used in times of water shortage) and a mains water supply was installed fed from Embsay Reservoir. The Longshaw Level reservoir is now unused, except possibly in times of acute water shortage. One anomaly that remains is that in 1966 Craven Water Board had compulsorily purchased the area immediately around all the mine shafts and adits in Hebden Gill (for £1 each!), presumably to protect their supplies. These little islands are still owned by Yorkshire Water, and when a shaft above Charger Level collapsed in June 1993, taking with it a ewe, a lamb, and a collie from High Garnshaw, they gated the adits and fenced off anything they thought might be a shaft or adit, including a quarry area they didn't actually own.

There is more information about the work here.