Halcyon days as a reservoir keeper
FORTY years ago I opened the doors to Bleak House, Crowden, for the first time, and although North West Water Bosses had asked me to go and have a look around and arrange to get into the place before my interview, I didn’t bother because I knew, if I got the job, the place was for me.
I had no experience in the water industry, save for turning on a tap and flushing the toilet, but it transpired that I had been earmarked for the role as Reservoir Keeper for Woodhead Reservoir, by the area manager, Ronnie Clayton, not least because he read my wildlife articles in the Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News. True story.
You see, when I lived in Hadfield for a time in 1978, I applied for a permit to venture onto ‘Water Board’, or as it was known earlier ‘Corporation’ land, and in particular what was called, ‘Catchment Area Land’; basically all the land from Tintwistle to Saltersbrook, over the hills to Brushes and Stalybridge, and of course the now extremely crowded Dovestone. The permit was to enable me to go birdwatching and in my covering letter I enclosed samples of my wildlife articles. The rest as they say, and I was like the proverbial kid in a sweet shop. At 26, everything seems possible, there were no bounds and although I was grilled, at my interview with questions like, ‘ You’re too wellqualified for this job’, I was fresh-faced, seen here, cheeky and not long back from two weeks in Sweden, and spotted a recent newspaper clipping peeking out from under the late Tom Quayle’s folder. I steered the conversation to elk steaks, as you do, and moved fluidly to my time as a teacher in Liverpool’s Toxteth. I was a shoe-in after that, as Tom was from Merseyside, although he did make me sweat by waiting three hours to call me.
In those halcyon days, there was no one about in the valley, because they were simply not allowed, and all the reservoir keepers, or water men, and indeed the bailiffs and gamekeepers, soon shifted stray ramblers, sometimes with shotguns in hand. Anyway, I got the job and moved in on February 10, 1980, and soon realised I’d won the jackpot.
The Grade II Listed Building came free with the job, as did the Land Rover, and my delightful line manager, the late Stan Arnfield, dropped my wages off in cash on a Thursday. Admittedly the pay did not match my teachers’ salary, but come on, the view from the bath onto Bleaklow was so worth the drop in income. I landed in the role at a time when change was afoot, and I mean big change, but it was slow in coming. As an example, the Head Office and yard in Tintwistle was like a small village in it’s own right, as every morning upwards of sixty, or seventy, maybe even more, workmen and some women arrived for a day’s work from the nearby villages. The same procession had been taking place since the 1860’s when the Reservoirs were completed, and included blacksmiths, painters, drystone-wallers, forestry staff, electricians, plumbers, office staff, engineers and many more. It was a job for life on the ‘Corp’, and your mother’s uncles, some aunties, your sons and brothers all worked there. Then there was me.
I could direct readers to my book, The Waterman’s Tale, for more stories, about the lost railway and lost buildings of the
Valley, Crowden Hall, the George and Dragon and Commercial and so on, but this was not my intention when I began writing this morning. I simply wanted to compare what, United Utilities were doing today, in terms of the environment and wildlife, compared to North West Water back in my day. At first glance, their ‘environmental section’ appears to be doing a massive amount which I want to investigate further and highlight my favourite initiatives. As for me, I very soon began my own wildlife initiatives at Woodhead and Crowden, some I still maintain in a couple of secret places, and I look forward to sharing tales of both my own and United Utilities’ efforts for the good of the countryside.
Steve Mogford, CEO of United Utilities, said: “For more than 15 years United Utilities has been pioneering in our partnership approach to landscape and reservoir catchment improvements. By applying what we have learned about systems to the broader water environment we firmly believe we can deliver multiple benefits for society.’
Watch this space, and I might even ask Steve for a job.
I wonder if he reads my columns?