Brent Reservoir

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Brent Reservoir
A view over Brent reservoir
Location	Brent
Coordinates	51.56879° N 0.24834° WCoordinates: 51.56879° N 0.24834° W
Lake type	reservoir
Primary outflows	River Brent
Basin countries	United Kingdom
Surface area	110 acres (445,154 m²)

Brent Reservoir
Official name	Brent Reservoir
Locale	Brent, UK
Maintained by	British Waterways
Construction began	1835
Opening date	1838

The Brent Reservoir (popularly called the Welsh Harp) is a reservoir which straddles the boundary between the London Boroughs of Brent and Barnet and is owned by British Waterways. The reservoir takes its informal name from its characteristic shape as seen in plan,^[1] namely a welsh harp. A nearby public house, dating from at least 1751, used the name Old Welsh Harp for much of its history, although this has given rise to a popular myth that the reservoir was named after the pub when it was the other way around. The inn itself was originally called The Harp and Horn.^[2]

The reservoir is fed by the Silk Stream and the River Brent, and its outflow is the River Brent. It is said to contain enough water to fill 3 million baths, and in 1994 when the reservoir was drained over 6,700 lb of fish were captured, 95% of which was Roach. However, fishing is prohibited at the reservoir.

The reservoir is also a sailing centre (although the Youth Sailing Base is closed for redevelopment).

1 Construction of the reservoir
2 Recreation
3 War history
4 Wildlife and nature conservation
5 References
6 External links
7 Gallery

[edit] Construction of the reservoir

Plans for the construction had been laid in 1803 but abandoned because of cost. However the canal system continued to develop in the early years of the 19th century and there was ongoing water supply problems. By 1820 it was found that there was not enough water to supply the Grand Union Canal and the Regent's Canal so under powers granted by an Act of Parliament in 1819, a decision was made by the Regent's Canal Company to dam the River Brent and create a reservoir.

The reservoir was constructed by William Hoof between 1834 and 1835. The water flooded much of what was Cockman’s Farm, to supply the Regent's Canal at Paddington. It was originally called Kingsbury Reservoir and was 69 acres in extent, covering an area between Old Kingsbury Church and the Edgware Road. Hoof, who was awarded the tender for the work (including the construction of a bridge) received the sum of £2,740 and six shillings.^[3]

The construction did not proceed without problems; in August 1835, just a few months before completion, four brothers named Sidebottom drowned in an accident.

Additional building work was completed in December 1837 to extend the size of the reservoir. In 1841 after seven days of continuous rain the dam head collapsed, killing two people.^[4] It was after this that a man was employed for the first time as a superviser, with a cottage built for him near the dam. This cottage still exists today.

At its greatest extent it covered 400 acres (1.6 km²) in 1853, but was dramatically reduced to 195 acres (789,000 m²) in the 1890s, and subsequently has been reduced to 110 acres (445,000 m²).

[edit] Recreation

During the second half of the 19th century the area became famous as a popular destination for recreation and evening entertainments, almost entirely due to the efforts of one man, W.P. Warner (1832-1899), who in 1858 became landlord of the Old Welsh Harp Tavern. The tavern stood on the Edgware Road, near to where it crossed the River Brent. Warner, who had fought with distinction in the Crimean War, created the tavern along the lines of the great London Pleasure gardens (ironically at the same time when the most famous of them all, the Vauxhall finally closed its doors). For about 40 years, Warner made the Old Welsh Harp Tavern one of London's most popular places and it was celebrated in song by the music hall star Annie Adams as 'The Jolliest Place That's Out'.

The amusements were focused not just on the inn, but around the reservoir itself. Warner operated a race track for a number of years until an Act of Parliament made its continuance illegal. The first greyhound races with mechanical hares took place here in 1876. In 1891, there was an attempt by Capazza to launch his 'Patent Parachute Balloon', a contraption which failed to leave the ground. Accounts at the time recorded that there were some 'nasty incidents' among the 5000 spectators following this failed attempt. These activities often attracted a mixed clientele and crime and violence was not uncommon. Indeed, one social observer described the races as a 'carnival of vice'. The reservoir, like nearby Hampstead Heath, was also famous for its Bank Holiday fairs. There was an incident during its Victorian heyday when a bear escaped from the Tavern's menagerie.

In winter, the reservoir froze over and proved ideal for skating; indeed national and international ice-skating events were held here. In February 1893, Jack Selby became famous for driving a coach and four horses across the frozen reservoir. Towards the end of the 19th Century, increasing urbanisation led to the end of this hedonistic chapter of the reservoir.^[5]

The Midland Railway built its Welsh Harp station on its new line from Bedford into St.Pancras. The area lost its attraction with the development of West Hendon between 1895 and 1915.

Naturists gathered at the Welsh Harp from 1921 onwards, until an incident in June 1930 when about 250 sunbathers were attacked by around 200 objectors.^[6] Later the reservoir was popular as a resort for speed boat trials and other water sports, until its size became unsuitable for such activity.

[edit] War history

The Mechanical Warfare Department, part of the War Office, which was based nearby in Cricklewood used the Welsh Harp to secretly carry out the first tests of a massive new weapon from 1916 onward - the Tank, especially the amphibious version of the Mark IX tank. Early film of these tests was shown on British Television in the late 1990s. During the Second World War, a seaplane was kept on the reservoir and rumoured to be an escape route for the Prime Minister. Local residents have recounted tales of swimming out to the plane.^[7]

[edit] Wildlife and nature conservation

During the construction of the reservoir, the Welsh Harp became known to London's ornithologists as an area that attracted rare and uncommon birds. The prominent figures of James Harting and Walpole-Bond were regular visitors to the Welsh Harp and 'bagged' (shot) many birds. Harting later documented these in his 1866 book the Birds of Middlesex. They included several rare vagrants to the UK such as Little Bittern, Squacco Heron and White-rumped Sandpiper. This started an interest in the birds of the Welsh Harp that has continued right up until today, giving a unique historical perspective of a site in London. The next prominent ornithologist to take an interest in the area was William Glegg from around the 1920s onwards and he wrote a paper from the London Naturalist in 1930 called 'The Birds of Middlesex since 1866, then wrote a follow up book to Harting's in 1935, called A History of the Birds of Middlesex. After the Second World War, a new generation of ornithologists took an interest in the Welsh Harp, such as Professor Warmington, and Eric Simms, who lived just south of the reservoir in Dollis Hill. They were later joined by Dr Leo Batten in the late 1950s who still visits the reservoir today and was one of the prime movers in setting up the Welsh Harp Conservation Group (WHCG) in 1972 to fight off development. The WHCG has since worked tirelessly to protect the area as a nature reserve, including preventing a golf course and driving range from being built. The WHCG produces an annual report and also published a book about the reservoir – Birds of Brent Reservoir – in 2000, which includes chapters on the social history, the effects of urbanisation, the habitats, as well as an in-depth study of the birds, animals and other wildlife. The WHCG organise regular management work, such as annual refurbishment of the tern rafts and work closely with Brent and Barnet Councils on site management, including inputting to National Lottery bids.

The eastern and northern marshes were designated as a SSSI in 1975, mainly due to the diversity of the site's breeding waterbirds. Much of the reservoir and surrounding open space was designated as a Local Nature Reserve in 2005.

[edit] Birds of the reservoir

The reservoir is an important site for breeding waterbirds such as Great Crested Grebe, Gadwall, Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck and Common Tern. At one stage, the reservoir was second only to Rutland Water for the most breeding pairs of Great Crested Grebe in the UK. Other breeding birds include eight species of warbler. In 2008, the first nesting attempt by Great Cormorant took place as well as the first nesting attempt by Grey Heron for several years.

The reservoir has always enjoyed a reputation for producing rare birds. As well those documented above during its early days, it attracted two Black-winged Stilts in 1918; the first Great White Egret in London in 1997; Blue-winged Teal in 1996; Lesser Scaup in 2003 and Penduline Tits in 1996 and 1997. Remarkably for an inland site, it also attracted several rare warblers, notably Aquatic Warbler in 1955, Hume's Warbler in 2004, Yellow-browed Warblers in 1994 and 2003; however, most significant was an Iberian Chiffchaff on 3 June 1972 which was the first record of this species to be recorded in the UK.

[edit] Insects

Many other forms of wildlife have also been well studied over the years and were documented in the WHCG book. There have been 28 species of butterfly seen at the reservoir, including breeding Marbled White, the closest site for these to the centre of London. Scarce species include a single Dark Green Fritillary in 1999. Prior to the construction of the reservoir, Marsh Fritillary used to breed. Dragonflies have recently been studied and 14 species have been seen, of which 12 breed at the reservoir.

[edit] Mammals

Few mammals are seen by most visitors to the reservoir, Grey Squirrel being the most obvious; Red Fox is common but mostly nocturnal. Muntjac have been present since the beginning of the 21st century but are very shy, their presence noted mainly by their tracks. The reservoir is particularly notable for its bats with three species of Pipistrelle, Noctule, Leisler's Bat, Serotine and Daubenton's Bat all recorded on a single day in September 2007.