Swithland Reservoir

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Use British English|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Swithland Reservoir | image = Swithland_Reservoir.jpg | caption = View from the causeway at the southern end, with Brazil Island in the centre and the railway viaduct to the right. | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = |pushpin_map=Leicestershire | location = [[Leicestershire]] | coords = {{coord|52|43|20|N|1|10|25|W|type:waterbody_region:GB|display=inline,title}} | type = [[Reservoir]] | inflow = Lingdale Brook, Swithland Brook, Hallgates Brook, Bradgate Brook | outflow = [[Buddon Brook]] | catchment = | basin_countries = United Kingdom | length = | width = | area = | depth = | max-depth = | volume = {{convert|600|e6impgal|acre.ft}} | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = | islands = | cities = [[Swithland]] }}{{OSM Location map | lat =52.719 | lon =-1.1742926 | zoom =14 | width = 255  | height = 480 | caption =  | minimap = file | mini-file=Leicestershire UK district map (blank).svg | mini-width=80 | mini-height=60 | minipog-x=40 | minipog-y=23 | scalemark =75  | mark-lat = 52.723 | mark-lon =-1.173 |mark-size=0 | label = SWITHLAND RESERVOIR |label-size=10 |label-color=blue |label-pos=top | mark-title = Swithland Reservoir | mark-image = Swithland Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 150083.jpg  | mark-description = Swithland Reservoir looking south from the dam wall, beside the Victorian draw-off Tower  | label1=Brazil Island | label-pos1=left |label-size1=10 |label-color1=grey | mark-lat1 = 52.7174 | mark-lon1 =-1.17489 |mark-size1=0 |mark-title1 = Brazil Island, Swithland Reservoir | mark-image1=Swithland Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 321827.jpg | mark-description1 =Brazil Island, Swithland Reservoir, crossed by the Great Central steam railway  |label2=Filter beds |label-pos2=bottom | mark-lat2 = 52.7284 | mark-lon2 =-1.17884 |mark-title2 = Filter beds | mark-image2=SwithlandReservoirFilterbeds.JPG | mark-description2=Reservoir filter beds, laid out like formal gardens.  | label3=Buddon Wood | mark-lat3 = 52.7271 | mark-lon3 =-1.1708593 |label-pos3=right |mark-title3 = Buddon Wood | mark-image3=Kinchley Lane next to Swithland Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 516366.jpg | mark-description3 =Buddon Wood. The strip of woodland beside Kinchley Lane is the last remnant of ancient woodland fringing Mountsorrel Quarry  |label4=Mountsorrel Quarry | mark-lat4 = 52.73 | mark-lon4 =-1.1719 |label-pos4=right |mark-title4 = Mountsorrel Quarry | mark-image4=Buddon Quarry, Mountsorrel - geograph.org.uk - 226329.jpg | mark-description4=Mountsorrel Quarry is the result of a massive excavation of roadstone on the former site of Buddon Wood, the richest wildlife site in Leicestershire.  | label5=Great Central Railway |mark5=BSicon MBAHN.svg | mark-lat5 = 52.7206 | mark-lon5 =-1.1783266 |label-pos5=top |label-offset-x5=-15 |mark-size5=18 |mark-title5 = Great Central Railway | mark-image5=78019 approaching Swithland Viaduct.jpg | mark-description5= The [[Great Central Railway (heritage railway)|Great Central Railway]], now a steam preservation railway with two tracks across the [[Swithland Viaduct|viaduct]].  | label6=Swithland Sidings |label-pos6=bottom |mark6=BSicon MBAHN.svg | mark-lat6 = 52.7134 | mark-lon6 =-1.1665 |mark-size6=18 |mark-title6 = Swithland Sidings | mark-image6=Sidings - geograph.org.uk - 87801.jpg | mark-description6= [[Swithland Sidings]] on the [[Great Central Railway (heritage railway)|Great Central Railway]].  | label7= Mountsorrel Branch |label-pos7=top | mark-lat7 = 52.7168 | mark-lon7 =-1.1671472 |mark7=BSicon MBAHN.svg |mark-size7=18 |mark-title7 = Mountsorrel Branch Railway | mark-image7=The Mountsorrel Quarryman inaugural trains (geograph 4713734).jpg | mark-description7= Initially a handy place to have an engine shed, the old Mountsorrel quarry line is now running over 2km of track.  | label8= Swithland |label-pos8=right | mark-lat8 = 52.7122 | mark-lon8 =-1.185 |mark-title8 = Swithland | mark-image8=Main street,Swithland 2006-04-04 043web.jpg | mark-description8= Main Street, [[Swithland]] }} '''Swithland Reservoir''' is a [[reservoir]] in the [[England|English]] county of [[Leicestershire]]. It is north-east of the village of [[Swithland]] from which it takes its name, north-west of [[Rothley]] and approximately {{convert|133|m|yd}} south-west of [[Mountsorrel Quarry]]. It is part of the {{convert|187.1|ha|acre|adj=on}} '''Buddon Wood and Swithland Reservoir''' [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI).<ref name=dsv>{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1003516&SiteName=buddon&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Buddon Wood and Swithland Reservoir | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date = 18 September 2017}}</ref><ref name=map>{{cite web|url= http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271003516%27|title=Map of Buddon Wood and Swithland Reservoir|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date= 18 September 2017}}</ref>

==History== Leicester's rapidly growing population in the latter half of the 19th century required the construction of a series of reservoirs. In 1854 [[Thornton Reservoir]] was opened, serving a population of 61,000.<ref name="CouncilMeeting">{{cite news |title=The Swithland Reservoir: Meeting of the Town Council |work=Leicester Chronicle |date=14 April 1894 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000173/18940414/057/0006| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> By 1861 the population had increased, with the [[Leicester Waterworks Company]] now directly supplying 24,000 people, and five years later the company was supplying between 60 and 70,000 people and work began on [[Cropston Reservoir|Bradgate Reservoir]] (now known as Cropston Reservoir).<ref name="CouncilMeeting" /> By 1878 the "water population" had increased to 110,000 and by 1893 to 203,000, requiring further reservoirs to be constructed.<ref name="CouncilMeeting" />

In 1890 Leicester City Council sought parliamentary authority to acquire the land required to construct Swithland reservoir, which would be supplied from Lingdale Brook, Swithland Brook, Hallgates Brook, and Bradgate Brook, and construction commenced in 1894, with completion in 1896;<ref name="CouncilMeeting" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Local and District News |work=Leicester Chronicle |date=14 December 1889 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000173/18891214/055/0006| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The works including the holding reservoir and new pumping engines together with the engine and boiler houses at the Cropston station, were designed by [[John Breedon Everard]] of [[Pick Everard]].<ref>Memoranda on the life of John Breedon Everard in the possession of his great grandson Richard Anthony Everard</ref> The reservoir opened on 10 September in that year.<ref>{{cite news |title=The New Swithland Reservoir: Turning the "First Sod" |work=Leicester Chronicle |date=7 July 1894 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000173/18940707/046/0005| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Charnwood Ward |work=Leicester Chronicle |date=20 October 1894 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000173/18941020/019/0003| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Derby">{{cite news |title=Opening of New Waterworks for Leicester |work=Derby Daily Telegraph |date=10 September 1896 |access-date=20 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000327/18960910/013/0003| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The reservoir was constructed by Messrs. John Aird & Sons of London, who submitted a successful £133,511 tender and had a temporary railway extension built from Mountsorrel to assist with transportation of construction materials; This was extended to Hallgates in Cropston, where an additional storage reservoir was constructed, making the length nine miles in total.<ref name="CouncilMeeting" /><ref name="Train">{{cite news |title=The Leicester Waterworks Extension: The New Reservoirs at Swithland and Hallgates |work=Leicester Chronicle |date=7 September 1895 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000173/18950907/076/0008| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Swithland Reservoir was also a former water works used to treat water.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bcd-urbex.com/swithland-reservoir-former-water-works-leicestershire-uk/|title=Swithland Reservoir Former Water Works, Leicestershire, UK|work=Behind Closed Doors Urbex|access-date=2018-10-31|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Site and location==

The site of the reservoir was a wooded valley between six villages. Four of them have parts of their parish covered by it, namely [[Swithland]], [[Rothley]], [[Woodhouse, Leicestershire|Woodhouse]] and [[Quorn, Leicestershire|Quorn]], the other two being [[Mountsorrel]] and [[Woodhouse Eaves]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gamble|first=Ian|year=2001|title=The Birdlife of Swithland Reservoir|publisher=Kairos Press|isbn=9781871344271|page=43}}</ref> The stream through the valley, which feeds the reservoir, is called Bradgate Brook at the point where it now meets the reservoir. At its outflow it is known as Buddon Brook, and flows north and then west for 2 km (1.4 mi) before joining the [[River Soar]].{{sfn|Gamble|2001|p=47}} At its upper reaches, in the hills of [[Ulverscroft]] it flows south-east and is called Ulverscroft Brook. At Newtown Linford, where it is known as the River Lin, it turns to the north-east and flows through [[Bradgate Park]] and into [[Cropston Reservoir]], after which, as Bradgate Brook it reaches the southern end of Swithland Reservoir. A second stream, known as Swithland Brook, joins the west side of the reservoir having risen beyond Swithland Wood, through which it flows, and continues eastward through Swithland village.{{sfn|Gamble|2001|p=43}}

The road from Swithland was diverted due to the reservoir's construction and a bridge constructed at the South end.<ref name="Train" /> Construction of the reservoir necessitated the removal of 5,800 trees and nine miles of hedgerow.<ref name="FormalOpening">{{cite news |title=The New Waterworks at Swithland: Formal Opening by the Mayoress |work=Leicester Chronicle |date=12 September 1896 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000173/18960912/065/0006| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The [[dam]] is at the north end and is crossed by Kinchley Lane. An island known as Brazil Island (the part of Brazil Wood left above water level after flooding) is located south of the centre of the reservoir, with a [[weir]] on either side. Brazil Island was the site of a game preserve until it was destroyed by fire in 1938.<ref>{{cite news |title=News item |work=Portsmouth Evening News |date=5 May 1938 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000290/19380505/024/0002| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Pre-reservoir landscape=== In the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 the whole of the Charnwood area was recorded as uninhabited and uncultivated 'waste', extending in the east almost to the River Soar.<ref>{{cite journal|first=George|last=Farnham|title=The Charnwood Manors|journal=Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society|volume=XV|year=1928|page=144|url=https://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/ChwoodmanorsVolume15.pdf}}</ref> Neither Quorn nor Swithland receive an entry, and the Buddon brook valley, along with much of eastern Charnwood, fell within the Manor of [[Barrow upon Soar|Barrow]].{{sfn|Farnham|1928|p=144}} In the centuries that followed the arrival of Norman lords, some eleven deer parks were established around Charnwood Forest, by the various manorial lords.<ref>{{cite book|first1=A|last1=Squires|first2=W|last2=Humphrey|title=The Medieval Parks of Charnwood Forest|publisher=Sycamore Press|year=1986|page=17}}</ref> Barrow Park is first documented in 1135.{{sfn|Squires|Humphrey|1986|p=68}} An almost circular park with Buddon Brook running north-south through its middle. Substantial banks and ditches enclosed an area intended to preserve deer for hunting, and would also have provided timber and other resources of a medieval manor. The northern half of the reservoir lies within Barrow Park, as does the whole of Buddon Wood, and the bank and ditch remain well preserved both around the south-eastern edge of the wood and within the silt of the reservoir floor, as was seen when it was drained in 1976.{{sfn|Squires|Humphrey|1986|p=43}} Also visible in the silt is a moated medieval park-keeper's house site, with several fishponds alongside. Unusually for a medieval manor, its history hinged on four sisters, who each inherited a part of Barrow Manor when their father Roger de Sumery died in 1273. Amongst the parcels of land each daughter inherited was a part of Barrow Park, or as it was becoming known, Quorndon Park, as the newer settlement grew up along the park's northern boundary.{{sfn|Squires|Humphrey|1986|p=72}}

With each of the daughters married to landowners elsewhere, the park and other lands in Barrow were sold and exchanged in small parcels, but by the fourteenth century were mainly split between two big landowners, the [[Hugh Despenser the Younger|Despenser]] and Erdington Families. With the disgrace and execution of Hugh Despenser in 1326, his estates, now part of the manor of Beaumanor, passed to the [[Henry de Beaumont|Beaumonts]].{{sfn|Squires|Humphrey|1986|p=72}} The Erdington line died out in 1467, and having reverted to the crown was added to [[William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings|William Hastings]]' vast Leicestershire land holdings until his execution in 1483. The manor of Barrow remained with the Hastings family until 1840, but much of the individual land holdings were sold off piecemeal, and it was only in the 18th century that Buddon Wood returned to a single owner when [[Joseph Danvers]] was able to consolidate the various parts.{{sfn|Squires|Humphrey|1986|p=74}}

Although the park had not been managed as a single unit, its boundaries continued to influence land use and local administration. Substantial sections of the park pale still form the Rothley-Quorn parish boundary and similarly set the Woodhouse-Quorn border until recent rationalisations moved it to the railway line. Likewise, the Rushey Fields-Kinchley Lane road, where it ran under the reservoir, tracked the park pale for some 500m. {{sfn|Squires|Humphrey|1986|p=45}}

==Swithland Viaduct== {{Infobox bridge | bridge_name = Swithland Viaduct | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Swithland Viaduct.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = The South Viaduct of the Swithland Viaduct | carries = [[Great Central Railway (preserved)|Great Central Railway]] | crosses = Swithland Reservoir | locale = | official_name = | other_name = | owner = | maint = | heritage = | preceded = | followed = | design = | material = [[brick]] | length = | width = | height = | mainspan = | spans = | pierswater = | load = | clearance = | below = | life = | architect = | designer = Mr. Alexander Ross, M. Inst. C.E. | engineering = | builder = John Aird & Sons | fabricator = | begin = | complete = c.1897 | cost = | open = | inaugurated = | collapsed = | closed = | replaces = | traffic = | toll = | extra = | references = | id = | map_cue = | map_image = | map_alt = | map_text = | map_width = | lat = | long = }} Between 1895 and 1897, two viaducts were constructed over the reservoir as part of the [[Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway]]'s [[Great Central Main Line|London Extension]], crossing via Brazil Island.<ref>{{cite news |title=The M. S. and L. Line to London |work=Nottingham Evening Post |date=22 December 1894 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/18941222/047/0004| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> They are referred to collectively as Swithland Viaduct and were built by John Aird & Sons, as a sub-contract to Henry Lovatt & Co. of Wolverhampton.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://prints.leics.gov.uk/swithland_viaduct_leicestershire/print/671742.html|title=Swithland viaduct, Leicestershire|year=1897|accessdate=1 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323021015/http://prints.leics.gov.uk/swithland_viaduct_leicestershire/print/671742.html|archive-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> The reservoir had to be completely drained so that the viaduct could be built.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 March 2026 |title=L2309 - North section of Swithland viaduct, Leicestershire |url=https://imageleicestershire.org.uk/view-item?i=7380&WINID=1773774481849 |website=Image Leicestershire: Leicestershire in Pictures}}</ref> The south viaduct has a skew girder section approximately halfway along its length, this having been provided to bridge the weir which separates the reservoir into two unequal portions.

Today this forms part of the route of the preserved [[Great Central Railway (preserved)|Great Central Railway]] and sits between [[Quorn and Woodhouse railway station|Quorn and Woodhouse]] to the north and [[Swithland Sidings]] to the south. The viaduct is [[Local heritage list|locally listed]] by [[Charnwood Borough Council]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Viaduct and Bridge at Swithland Reservoir, Swithland Reservoir |url=https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/listed_buildings/viaduct_and_bridge_at_swithland_reservoir_swithland_reservoir |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=Charnwood Borough Council |language=en}}</ref> Extensive maintenance work was carried out on the girder span in 2015, in order to replace wasted plates within the girders.

==Water provision== [[File:Pump house on Swithland res. - geograph.org.uk - 148716.jpg|thumb|The draw-off tower, alongside the dam]] The dam is 404 yards long and is 26 feet wide at the top and 48 feet wide at the base; It was constructed of concrete and water-clay.<ref name="CouncilMeeting" /> A draw-off tower, alongside the dam wall originally abstracted water for the six gravity filter beds behind the dam wall, which have a total area of 75,000 square feet, surrounding a clear water tank.<ref name="Train" /> Water was pumped from the storage tank to the 2 million gallon capacity Hallgates reservoir, and from there it traveled through a water main to the lower reservoir at [[Oadby]] via gravitation.<ref name="FormalOpening" /> Today raw water from Swithland Reservoir is pumped into nearby Cropston Water Treatment Works before being put into Hallgates Service Reservoir. Several of the buildings at Swithland Reservoir are listed, with much of the pumping station site [[Grade II]] listed.<ref>"[https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/listed_buildings/search/swithland_reservoir Listed Buildings: Swithland Reservoir]", Charnwood Borough Council. Retrieved 29 June 2014</ref>

The capacity was initially stated at 600 million gallons (100 million gallons more than was originally envisaged), and was thought sufficient to serve a population of 300,000.<ref name="CouncilMeeting" /><ref name="Derby" /> Early operation of the reservoir was not without difficulties; While it had been envisaged that it would be sufficient to serve Leicester for 20 years, by 1898 further supply capacity from Derbyshire was needed, and the reservoir was considered by some to have been a failure.<ref>{{cite news |title=Charnwood Ward |work=Leicester Chronicle |date=29 October 1898 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000173/18981029/078/0006| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Councillor Hancock on the Government of Leicester |work=Leicester Chronicle |date=4 March 1899 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000173/18990304/105/0008| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Leicester Water Supply |work=Nottingham Evening Post |date=10 August 1909 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/19090810/011/0004| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 1909 supply to Leicester was temporarily halted due to "vegetable growth" caused by warm weather.<ref>{{cite news |title=Leicester Water Scare |work=Nottingham Evening Post |date=21 July 1909 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/19090721/009/0004| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)== The reservoir is part of the '''Buddon Wood and Swithland Reservoir''' biological [[SSSI]], and Buddon Hill quarry, which is also designated on geological grounds, is a [[Geological Conservation Review]] site.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4174&gcr=1406 |title= Buddon Hill (Caledonian igneous) |series=Geological Conservation Review |publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee|access-date= 8 August 2017}}</ref> The Mountsorrel granite of Buddon Wood has been such a valuable commodity commercially that it has taken precedence over the wildlife interest of the wood. It is also enigmatic, geologically, both as to its age and the way it formed. As the SSSI citation puts it, if its mysteries could be solved, it 'would provide a key to unravelling the deep crustal structure of Southern Britain about which so little is known at the moment'.<ref name=sssi>{{cite web|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003516.pdf|title=Buddon Wood and Swithland Reservoir citation|series=Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date=18 September 2017|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042549/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003516.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The quarry is owned and operated by [[Tarmac (company)|Tarmac]], and a major part of the output is crushed stone for use either as coated stone (eg in roads) or within concrete. Quarrying began in the 1970s and by 2016 the excavated area covered {{convert|167|acres|ha}} which, at its deepest was {{convert|120|m|ft}} below sea level, and some {{convert|210|m|ft}} below the rim.<ref>[http://www.tarmac.com/mountsorrel-quarry/about Tarmac.com - About Mountsorrel Quarry] Accessed 2 December 2016</ref>

Biologically, the whole site was unequivocal. It is (or at least was, before quarrying began) the richest site in Leicestershire for species diversity.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Squires|first1=Anthony|last2=Jeeves|first2=Michael|title=Leicestershire and Rutland Woodlands Past and Present|publisher=Kairos Press|isbn=9781871344035|year=1994|page=113}}</ref> Over 200 species of vascular plants, a third of all recorded British spiders, 20 different butterfly species and 200 moth species have all been recorded within the SSSI area.<ref name=sssi/> The ancient woodland of Buddon Wood and the pre-reservoir habitats had developed over thousands of years. But with the arrival of the reservoir, numerous new habitats were introduced which have been exploited by wetland plants and above all by birds. 218 different species of wild birds were recorded on and around the reservoir between 1940 and 2000, of which 92 were known to breed there.{{sfn|Gamble|2001|p=8}} The open water is a particularly important roosting and feeding area for large number of waterbirds in winter,<ref name=sssi/> and as a stopping off point for migrant species passing through.{{sfn|Gamble|2001|p=8}}

==Notable tragedies==

Local woman May Cook drowned in the reservoir in 1924 after apparently fainting while bathing her head.<ref>{{cite news |title=Girl Clerk's Fate: Fainted While Bathing Head in Reservoir |work=Nottingham Evening Post |date=17 July 1924 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/19240717/032/0006| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The body of 19-year-old Ethel Oxford was recovered from the reservoir in April 1925.<ref>{{cite news |title=Local Happenings |work=Nottingham Evening Post |date=15 April 1925 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/19250415/026/0005| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 1926 the reservoir was the scene of the suicide of local man Albert Edwin Pepper, who drowned himself by entering the water with a stone weighing 40-60 lbs tied to his waist.<ref>{{cite news |title=Widow's Tribute to "Kindest Husband" |work=Nottingham Evening Post |date=8 June 1926 |access-date=29 June 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/19260608/023/0006| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

== External links == * [http://www.lros.org.uk/swithland.htm LROS: Leicestershire & Rutland Ornithological Society: Swithland Wood] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508115254/http://www.lros.org.uk/swithland.htm |date=8 May 2018 }}

[[Category:Drinking water reservoirs in England]] [[Category:Reservoirs in Leicestershire]] [[Category:Great Central Railway]] [[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Leicestershire]] [[Category:Geological Conservation Review sites]]