Horton Bank Country Park - 1997 - Bradford, UK - Dated Architectural Structures Multifarious on Waymarking.com

The park actually started out as a quarry and many of the nearby buildings were built with its stone.

When the quarry closed the question was what to do with the hole left in the ground. Use it as a reservoir to supply the city of Bradford below with clean water was the answer.

It opened in 1874 and held 150 million gallons of water and continued to do so until 1989. There had been concerns that the dam wall had become unsafe and a culvert which should divert the water in case of a leak was badly silted. There was great danger of a disaster if the dam walls did break.

The reservoir was first closed when it became infected with bacterial algae. Yorkshire Water then drained the reservoir, repaired the walls and landscaped the area. The country park was created with a small lake at the bottom and good paths around the lake and the top of the old quarry.

There is a free car park off Great Horton Road. This at the top of the old quarry and so entering the park gives good views of the lake below and an idea of how deep the reservoir used to be.

The date carving is at the entrance to the park at the car park. It is carved onto a vertical standing stone left over from the quarry. It is one of a few arranged closed together to form a gateway and prevent access by vehicles and motor cycles.

Year built or dedicated as indicated on the structure or plaque: 1997 Full Inscription (unless noted above): HORTON BANK COUNTRY PARK OPENED JULY 15 1997 Website (if available): [Web Link]

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