Information for record number MWA1864:
Earlswood Lakes

Summary Earlswood Lakes, a series of canal reservoirs, created in the Imperial period to serve the Stratford upon Avon canal. A pumping station survives, but the engine has been removed from the building.
What Is It?  
Type: Canal, Dam, Lake, Pumping Station, Steam Pump
Period: Imperial - Industrial (1751 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Tanworth in Arden
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 10 73
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The Earlswood lakes are a most impressive series of reservoirs constructed to serve the Stratford Canal. A tall brick engine house survives, built to house a beam pumping engine of 1823, but the machinery has gone.
2 The Earlswood reservoirs with their water surface of 85 acres and capacity of 34 million cubic feet....begun in 1821. Most of the water lay below Canal level, thus in 1822 a steam engine was bought....it pumped until 1936, in later days the boilers were out and a large vertical boiler was installed outside.
3 The building is described but is at SP1174 and is therefore not in Warwickshire, although the lakes are.
4 A system of large canal feeder reservoir consisting of three separate pools at two different levels. Built 1821-2 The inflows were and to an extent are, diverted around the reservoirs in artificial channels. Unusual in that the top water level is only a few inches higher than the Canal and most of the water has to be pumped. A causeway with a roadway separates Windmill and engine pools. The causeway contains at its NE end a common spillway (built 1986-1987) which discharges water from Windmill and engine pools into a vertical shaft and culvert which runs beneath the centre of the dam and emerges on the north side of Valley. Terry's pool and engine pool are also separated by a causeway with a footpath, incorporating a bridge and weir which allows water to spill from Terry's pool into engine pool.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Waterways to Stratford
Author/originator: Hadfield C & Norris J
Date: 1984
Page Number: 90, 98, 118
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Building Survey
Title: Panel for Historical Engineering Works
Author/originator: Institution of Civil Engineers
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Kilburn C D
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 4315
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Industrial Monuments Survey
Author/originator: Falconer K A
Date: 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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monument SHAFT * Use only if function unknown, otherwise use specific type. back
monument POOL * A small body of water, either natural or artificial. back
monument ROADWAY * The central part of a road between the pavements or the verges. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument WEIR * A dam constructed on the reaches of a canal or river designed to retain the water and to regulate its flow. back
monument WINDMILL * A tower-like structure of wood or brick with a wooden cap and sails which are driven around by the wind producing power to work the internal machinery. Use with product type where known. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument LAKE * A large body of water surrounded by land. back
monument CULVERT * A drainage structure that extends across and beneath roadways, canals or embankments. back
monument CANAL RESERVOIR * A supply of water used to keep canals that were vulnerable to water shortage topped up. back
monument CANAL * An artificial navigable waterway used for the transportation of goods. Nowadays also used for recreational purposes. back
monument ENGINE HOUSE * A building housing an engine. Use specific type where known. back
monument STEAM ENGINE * An engine in which the mechanical force of steam is made available as a motive power for driving machinery. back
monument MACHINERY * Apparatus used for applying a mechanical force, or to perform a particular function. Use more specific type where known. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument CANAL FEEDER * A channel which feeds water from a reservoir into a canal when the water level gets low. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument CAUSEWAY * A road or pathway raised above surrounding low, wet or uneven ground. back
monument ENGINE * A machine, powered by steam, gas, electricity or other energy source, which produces energy of movement. Use for stationary industrial engines rather than transport use. back
monument ENGINEERING WORKS * Any factory or site using machine tools in a manufacturing or processing capacity. back
monument SPILLWAY * A channel carrying overflow water past a dam. Early 19th century onwards. back
monument PUMPING STATION * A waterworks pumping station. back
monument FOOTPATH * A path for pedestrians only. back
monument STEAM PUMP * A machine used to raise and move water and other liquids, compress gases etc. and powered by a steam engine. back
monument DAM * A barrier of concrete or earth, etc, built across a river to create a reservoir of water for domestic and/or industrial usage. back
monument RESERVOIR * A large natural or artificial body of water, sometimes covered, used to collect and store water for a particular function, eg. industrial or public use. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record