Rudyard Lake Dam - Rudyard, Nr Leek, Staffordshire Moorlands, UK
N 53° 07.321 W 002° 04.460
30U E 561946 N 5886244
Rudyard Lake is an artificial lake that was created between 1797 and 1800 as a reservoir.
Waymark Code: WMWPYZ
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/29/2017
Views: 5
Rudyard Lake was created as a reservoir to feed the local Caldon and Trent and Mersey canals.
It became a popular local pleasure resort from 1849 onwards with the opening of the North Staffordshire Railway, which ran along the lakeside.
'Rudyard reservoir was the fourth reservoir constructed by the Trent and Mersey Canal Company to provide water at the summit of the Caldon branch of the Trent and Mersey canal.
The dam was designed by John Rennie and constructed by contractors Thomas Peak and John Mansfield. Work began in 1797 with John Rennie as consultant and was completed in 1800.
A branch canal to Leek from the existing Caldon canal was completed in 1801 with its feeder from Rudyard providing the much needed water supply. Initially, springs provided the supply of water to the reservoir but these proved insufficient and a feeder to the reservoir from the river Dane, at the northern end, via a weir was built in 1809. This weir had to be lowered in 1823 in order to increase the supply to the canal to cater for the extensions to the canal system which were requiring ever more water.' Source: (
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The reservoir is two and a half miles long and covers 163 hectares and was fed by the Dingle Brook and the Rad Brook (the latter being diverted south at Ryecroft Gate (in Rushton) specifically for this purpose. The branch canal to Leek was then completed with a 2½-mile long feeder channel connecting the two, and the new network opened in March 1801.
The dam is located at the south end of the lake and incorporates a ‘spillway’ which determines the maximum level of the water in the lake. The flow of water to the Caldon canal is controlled by valves in the two housings at the west end of the dam.
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The dam is an earth bank, faced with stone on the water side and is 155m long and 11m high. The embankment dam is constructed of earthfill, with a puddle clay core, 3.6m wide at the bottom and 1.8m wide at the top. The crest of the dam is wide, varying from 14m to 18m at the right abutment.
The lake is still a major source of water for the Trent & Mersey canal system and is owned and maintained by British Waterways. (
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