Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Hornsey Wood Reservoir
New to me and would live to take a look....( a bit scary tho' )
https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/finsbury-park-reservoir-londo...
Tags for Forum Posts: hornsey wood reservoir, underground reservoir
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by tim p on
-
Excellent, many thanks. That's a bit of research over a mince pie or two.
-
Permalink Reply by Hugh
-
Probably the best set of photos taken of the reservoir were those taken byMatt Emmett in 2014 for which he won the Arcaid Images Architectural Photography Award in 2016.
I added a link to the whole set on this thread back in 2014, but sadly the site I linked to had since gone down. If you Google "matt emmett hornsey wood reservoir photos", you can still find many of them scattered around the web.
-
Permalink Reply by Justin Guest
-
So, this is fascinating- not least because he got access to it. Not sure I spotted how that was arranged. It’s not like it’s open to the general public. Would love to go down there if we can ever arrange a tour.
-
Permalink Reply by Kathleen
-
Fabulous photos.. Really want to visit but he didn't say how to gain access.
-
-
I think most entries that have produced the photos over the past decade or so have been without permission.There's a manhole cover which gets welded shut. From time to time people manage to get it open. As far as I'm aware there have been a few licit entries, but I imagine it's not easy organising it.
-
-
That sounds about right Hugh, I do not see Thames Water's PR dept looking likely to pick up organising tours in a hurry!
It did make me think of the Byzantine Cistern in Istanbul, should anyone visit there! This you can get into, and well worth it!
-
-
One final link - I added a comment on another thread earlier which reveals where in Harringay all the spoils from digging out the reservoir ended up.
-
-
Oh wow...........impressive indeed ! Wonderful brickwork back in the day. Anywhere state how long it took from start to finish, number of navvies involved and if they were brought in specifically for the works ? Must have created something of a stir for the local population witnessing such undertakings. Just never know what lies under your feet.
-
-
It was dug out between 1868 and 1869, Guess where all the earth they dug out ended up?
The requirement in the contract I refer to on that linked page was to be able to dump earth from digging the hole over the period of one year. It was dated 23rd July 1868 in which it is written that "...the company are about to make and construct a Reservoir ...". That indicates with some accuracy when they might have started. It was completed by 1869. The Islington Gazette reported on 2nd July 1869 that the reservoir was complete and had been covered with turf. The formal opening of Finsbury Park was on 7th August 1869. So perhaps that gives us an end-date for the construction of the reservoir, or thereabouts.
It seems like it took less than a year to dig out and construct a reservoir that held 5 million gallons.
© 2025 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
