[O]n July 22nd, 1909, a brand new reservoir to supply clean, fresh drinking water for Carlisle was opened in Castle Carrock.
At the time, The Carlisle Patriot newspaper described it as: “The completion of the greatest undertaking upon which the city of Carlisle has embarked.”
The Reservoir Story, to be performed exactly 108 years after the event, tells the story of how and why 700 navvies were to spend 6 years toiling away in Geltsdale, Castle Carrock and all the way through to Cumwhinton and Scotby to make the bold vision of the Carlisle Corporation come true. From prisoners working the treadmill at Carlisle jail to pump the water, to municipal argument over paying for the scheme, to mud and manpower to put in the pipes, The Reservoir Story tells of how against all the odds, the greatest undertaking was indeed completed.
With original poetry and verse, 5 brand new songs never before performed and over 60 original black and white images discovered in two engineers’ diaries kept at Carlisle Library, The Reservoir Story explores what life must have been like, how the work was done and how it impacted on local life.
Tom Speight and Ian K Brown will perform the Reservoir Story for the first time at Music on the Marr in Castle Carrock on July 22nd, 2017.
