This place was well sealed on a previous visit so after a recent report of it being open I went along for a mooch.
The reservoir itself lies 282 metres above sea level and is fed by the River Kinder flowing down from the upland plateau of Kinder Scout. It has a capacity of 515 million gallons and covers 44 acres, At the time of its construction it was claimed to have the largest earth dam in the world.
It took nine years to build the reservoir and was finally completed in 1911 after a history of deaths, court cases and 1 mans determination.
Kinder is one of 3 reservoirs grouped on the same chain for providing water not only to local homes and businesses but as far away as Stockport and Manchester as well and as such a large filtration system was made and housed in a grand 10,000 sq ft purpose made building on this site.
In its day a set of state of the art vertical free standing filters could be seen through the grand arched windows with the sun beaming down through the multi strutted maze that is the roof with a raised centre section.
As demand increased a new treatment plant was built in Wybersley near Stockport the Kinder treatment plant was shut down in the late 90's.
In 2015 United utilities put the filter house up for sale however there were quite a number of restraints put on the sale which ultimately leaves it still on the market 20+ years after closure. There were plans made which can be found online but were rejected for whatever reasons.
The row of breathers in front of the building and the 2 entrances either side of the main steps led to two giant underground water tanks (now drained).
One of the entrances to the big underground water tanks, both were bricked up.
The vents on top.
These were the steps to the main visitor entrance,
Which is now bricked up of course,
But the doors (although I suspect not original 1911) are still on the inside.
Heres a few random exterior shots that show bits of architecture or human history i found nice, your milage might vary.
On the back wall on the banking is this little archway, inside is a small hole the size of the archway going in approximately 4-5 feet. I've seen these at other sites and am not entirely sure what they are unless they are sealed off entrances to something.
Inside was stripped out of almost all plant after closure but a few bits reman. There's nothing breath taking here and the very few bits that were left are more modern parts of updates of what the building was built for but interesting non the less.
The real gem is of course the building itself, from the complex lattice work of roof struts to the 2 tone polished bricks and ceramic flooring.
There have been alterations undertaken inside, bits of half height breeze block partitions and other parts walled up fully creating new cubby holes that don't really fit in with a water treatment plant, it seems like when the place was sealed off a small part of it was used for lighter duties or something else entirely, maybe some of it wasn't done officially and a 3rd party was once up to something in there.
Upstairs are the aluminium sulphate mixing tanks, presumably not an original feature aluminium sulphate basically makes bad particles (at microscopic level) stick together and as such easier to remove so making the water easier to clean.
Some stirrers.
The roof is a real gem, it must have been a real sun trap in its day.
As with all these types of buildings the stone reclamation will become more valuable than the building itself and I suspect if not saved in the next few years it will get demolished.
On my way out I found a hidden treasure, to be continued.....
The reservoir itself lies 282 metres above sea level and is fed by the River Kinder flowing down from the upland plateau of Kinder Scout. It has a capacity of 515 million gallons and covers 44 acres, At the time of its construction it was claimed to have the largest earth dam in the world.
It took nine years to build the reservoir and was finally completed in 1911 after a history of deaths, court cases and 1 mans determination.
Kinder is one of 3 reservoirs grouped on the same chain for providing water not only to local homes and businesses but as far away as Stockport and Manchester as well and as such a large filtration system was made and housed in a grand 10,000 sq ft purpose made building on this site.
In its day a set of state of the art vertical free standing filters could be seen through the grand arched windows with the sun beaming down through the multi strutted maze that is the roof with a raised centre section.
As demand increased a new treatment plant was built in Wybersley near Stockport the Kinder treatment plant was shut down in the late 90's.
In 2015 United utilities put the filter house up for sale however there were quite a number of restraints put on the sale which ultimately leaves it still on the market 20+ years after closure. There were plans made which can be found online but were rejected for whatever reasons.
The row of breathers in front of the building and the 2 entrances either side of the main steps led to two giant underground water tanks (now drained).
One of the entrances to the big underground water tanks, both were bricked up.
The vents on top.
These were the steps to the main visitor entrance,
Which is now bricked up of course,
But the doors (although I suspect not original 1911) are still on the inside.
Heres a few random exterior shots that show bits of architecture or human history i found nice, your milage might vary.
On the back wall on the banking is this little archway, inside is a small hole the size of the archway going in approximately 4-5 feet. I've seen these at other sites and am not entirely sure what they are unless they are sealed off entrances to something.
Inside was stripped out of almost all plant after closure but a few bits reman. There's nothing breath taking here and the very few bits that were left are more modern parts of updates of what the building was built for but interesting non the less.
The real gem is of course the building itself, from the complex lattice work of roof struts to the 2 tone polished bricks and ceramic flooring.
There have been alterations undertaken inside, bits of half height breeze block partitions and other parts walled up fully creating new cubby holes that don't really fit in with a water treatment plant, it seems like when the place was sealed off a small part of it was used for lighter duties or something else entirely, maybe some of it wasn't done officially and a 3rd party was once up to something in there.
Upstairs are the aluminium sulphate mixing tanks, presumably not an original feature aluminium sulphate basically makes bad particles (at microscopic level) stick together and as such easier to remove so making the water easier to clean.
Some stirrers.
The roof is a real gem, it must have been a real sun trap in its day.
As with all these types of buildings the stone reclamation will become more valuable than the building itself and I suspect if not saved in the next few years it will get demolished.
On my way out I found a hidden treasure, to be continued.....
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