| Description | Hallin Hall (water treatment works), Wadsworth. Late 19th century water treatment works: filter house and reservoir.
Hallin Hall was the subject of an historic building survey in 2009 by ARCUS (University of Sheffield). This was undertaken in response to a planning condition attached to Calderdale Council planning reference number 06/00023/CON for 'Conversion of disused water pumping station to a single dwelling'. The survey comprised a photographic recording, the drawing of measured plans/sections and documentary research. The resulting report, plans and photographic images are held by WYAAS (ARCUS. 2009). The report is summarised below:
The water treatment works comprises a single storey, stone built, four room, water filter house, a subterranean reservoir and two open shuttered concrete settling tanks. The water works was opened in 1894 drawing water off the Halifax Corporation 27' main from Widdup Reservoir. Water was conveyed to the filter house where originally there were three sand filters that were replaced by five pressurised filtration tanks c.1950. Within the filter house were facilities for chemical treatment of water including a laboratory. The works was decommissioned in 1988.
The report provides a historic background and detailed architectural description.
In conclusion, the report describes the decommissioned Hallin Hall water works as of value in contribution to our understanding of the construction and operation of water filtration works in the 19th and 20th centuries. Archive evidence for the installation of a chlorine plant during the second half of the Second World War in Hallin Hall has not been evidenced elsewhere, but illustrated that such installations must have been common place in water works at this time. Despite the absence of evidence for the original layout of the works, significant infrastructure remained to enable a reconstruction of the final layout of the plant before decommissioning.
The filter house had four rooms. Room 1 was an extension which probably held an office. Room 2 contained two tanks for the chlorine and ammonia treatment of water. Room 3 function as a lab, with chemical storage cabinets and machinery for testing water before and after treatment. Room 4 housed four pressurised filtration tanks. Chemically treated water entered the room through an 8' pipe in the north east corner where it could be directed straight out in to the settling tanks or through all or any one of the filtration tanks.
Alterations made during the expansion and updating of the waterworks make it difficult to infer the original arrangement of filtration tanks in the building’s first phase of use. It is, however likely that the original system would have used the structure in a similar way, with three slow sand filtration tanks in room four, a lab in room three and a chemical treatment plant in room 2.
Comparison with contemporary filtration houses within West Yorkshire such as those at White Well reservoir in Illkley, Gilstead reservoir in Eldwick and Blackmoorfoot reservoir in Huddersfield is essential for putting Hallin Hall into context. Externally the filter house, although exhibiting some architectural style, was more modestly constructed than the grandiose structures of Illkley and Blackmoorfoot. Internally, Hallin Hall was functionally appointed with glazed brick dado, painted brick walls, and concrete ceiling rather than the tongue and groove panelling of other filter houses. Hallin Hall also appears to have operated on a smaller scale: running five tanks rather than six in Illkley or the twenty in the North Filter House at Blackmoorfoot. Internally water treatment appear to have been simpler, with no evidence for the additional alum or lime prior to filtration. However it should be noted that the exact function of the chemical plant in Hallin Hall post 1945 is not known and may have been converted to other treatment works. ( |