Balderhead Reservoir Claimed

Balderhead Reservoir in Baldersdale, is one of a chain of three reservoirs on the River Balder, a tributary of the River Tees, which it joins at Cotherstone, about 5 miles to the east.

Balderhead Reservoir was constructed upstream of two existing reservoirs, Blackton and Hury, and added 3,500 million imperial gallons (16,000,000 m³) to the storage capacity on the River Balder.

Construction of the Balderhead dam began in 1961 and was finished in 1964, with the reservoir being filled during 1965. The dam, built of compacted boulder clay and shale, is 157 feet high and 3,000 feet long, and became, at completion, the highest earth dam constructed in the British Isles.