Eyebrook Reservoir

Eyebrook Reservoir

Eyebrook Reservoir, Ice on the water in winter
Location East Midlands (Leicestershire and Rutland)
Coordinates 52°33′01″N 0°44′29″W / 52.5504°N 0.7413°W / 52.5504; -0.7413Coordinates: 52°33′01″N 0°44′29″W / 52.5504°N 0.7413°W / 52.5504; -0.7413
Type reservoir
Primary inflows Eye Brook
Primary outflows Eye Brook
Catchment area 201 hectares (500 acres)
Basin countries United Kingdom

Eyebrook Reservoir (also Eye Brook Reservoir) is a reservoir in the East Midlands of England. It straddles the border of Leicestershire (to the west) and Rutland (to the east). It is located about 6 km (3.7 mi) northwest of Corby in Northamptonshire. Nearby villages are Stoke Dry to the north, and Caldecott to the south and near the dam.

The reservoir was formed by the damming of the Eye Brook.[1] It was built between 1937 and 1940 by Stewarts & Lloyds (supervised by Geoffrey Binnie of Binnie & Partners)[2] to supply water to their Corby steel works, now part of Tata Steel, formerly Corus.[3] During the Second World War it was used in May 1943 as a practice site for the Dambuster raids, standing in for the Möhne Reservoir; a plaque commemorates this.[3][4][5]

The site is about 201 hectares (500 acres) and consists of 155.12 ha (383.3 acres) of open water and canals, 33.25 ha (82.2 acres) of neutral grassland and 12.93 ha (32.0 acres) of broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland.[6] It has been a trout fishery since 1942 and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Eyebrook is an ideal place for bird watching.

References

View towards Stoke Dry
  1. The Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) - Alerts, Eye Brook Reservoir
  2. Muir Wood, Sir Alan (1990). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society: Geoffrey Morse Binnie (13 November 1908 - 5 April 1989). London: Royal Society. pp. 45–57.
  3. 1 2 "Video: Flypast marks 70 years since Dambuster Raids". Harborough Mail. 2013-05-16. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  4. Arquati, Richard (16 May 2013). "Air Tattoo to Salute Dambusters". Press releases. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  5. "Operation Chastise". Bomber command. Royal Air Force. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  6. Natural England - Sites of Specific Scientific Interest


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