Burrator Reservoir is a reservoir situated on the southern side of

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. It is part of a number of reservoirs and dams that were built over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries in the area now covered by

Dartmoor National Park Dartmoor is an highland (geography), upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National parks of England and Wales, National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers ...

to supply drinking water to the city of

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

and other rapidly growing towns in the surrounding lowlands. Burrator Reservoir was completed in 1898 and later expanded in 1929. The reservoir was built under the supervision of Edward Sandeman (1862-1959), the Water Engineer for

. The reservoir has two dams, the Burrator Dam, which is built across the River Meavy at Burrator Gorge at the south-western end, and the Sheepstor Dam built on a dividing ridge between the Meavy and Sheepstor Brook at the south-eastern end. The Burrator Dam was the first of the two to be built, with construction starting on 9 August 1893. It is the more massive of the two dams, constructed of concrete faced with granite blocks. The Sheepstor Dam was built in 1894 and is an earth embankment with a core wall of puddled clay above the original ground level, with a concrete section below ground. The reservoir was officially opened on 21 September 1898. In 1923 plans were made to enlarge the reservoir's capacity from 668 million gallons to 1,026 million by raising the height of both dams by 10 feet. Work began in December 1923, including the construction of a temporary suspension bridge near Burrator Dam to maintain traffic flow during the project. The reservoir was officially re-opened on 12 September 1928.

By the 1930s the watershed on Dartmoor for the reservoir was stated to be 5,360 acres. The present-day area of the reservoir at overflow level is about 150 acres. The reservoir's edges are planted with commercial forests. Today, Burrator Reservoir is managed by the South West Lakes Trust and serves as a popular destination for leisure activities such as walking, cycling, and fishing.

The reservoir in popular culture

The reservoir featured in the first episode of the second series of '' James May's Man Lab'', broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

in October 2011, when Oz Clarke and

James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...

travelled along the reservoir's edge while attempting to stage an escape from

Dartmoor Prison HM Prison Dartmoor is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, England, Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the mo ...

to the village of Meavy. The reservoir also features in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's 2011 film, '' War Horse''.

References

External links

Burrator Reservoir page at South West Lakes Trust website
{{authority control Dartmoor Drinking water reservoirs in England Reservoirs in Devon 1898 establishments in England Industrial archaeological sites in Devon