Woodhouse Moor Lake District

Blocked drains, drains covered in tarmac, and damaged drains have all contributed to the marshy conditions which have become standard on Woodhouse Moor. Beneath the Moor are five springs which used to make the park very wet. Drains were laid in the 1860s to take away this spring water and to leave the Moor dry. All went well for over a hundred years. Then the council started to allow heavy lorries onto the park. These damaged the fragile clay drains laid by the Victorians. Contractors laid tarmac on top of the original concrete paths, at the same time, covering over many of the original drains. As a result of these mistakes, a large pond appeared for the first time about fifteen years ago at the end of the flat area of the main Moor nearest to the former Grammar School. Then two years ago, a second pond appeared very close to the one that appeared fifteen years ago. The latest pond is adjacent to the grass verge that borders Woodhouse Lane.