Opening of the Blea Tarn Reservoir (1902)

A wet afternoon in Scolforth can't dampen the civic pride of Lancashire's great and good.

A wet afternoon in Scolforth can't dampen the civic pride of Lancashire's great and good as the mayor of Lancaster officially opens the new reservoir. Seemingly hundreds cram into the TARDIS-like valve house, while the ordinary folk watch from beyond the gate. One enterprising young man turns his own box brownie on Mitchell and Kenyon's cameraman - if only we could see a copy of his photograph!

Work started at Blea Tarn in 1896, and the reservoir was in use by 1901; this official opening took place on 23 April 1902. According to the Lancaster Guardian, the self-consciousness of some of the attending dignitaries didn't go unnoticed when Mitchell and Kenyon's film screened a few days later: "Much amusement is caused by the 'gait' of some well known personages who have evidently been anxious to make an impression on the camera."