The Fylde & Wyre Antiquarian

The Westby reservoir was part of the Fylde Water Board's improvements to supply the Fylde coast's expanding population. It was built around 1930, (the same time as the Warbreck water tower), to supplement the reservoir at Weeton, which was built in1863.
The Weeton reservoir was originally fed by the Barnacer and Grizdale reservoirs, but when the Stocks reservoir was built in Bowland in the late twenties, an aqueduct was constructed to supply both Weeton and Westby. Originally open, they were covered over in the sixties.



The reservoir was built on the site of the Westby mills, such a good site that there were two windmills working close together, on the highest ground in the area. I imagine a lot of archaeology will have been destroyed when it was built. The track going up from the bottom right corner is the original road out of Kirkham, the course of the Danes Pad. There doesn't appear to be any sight of it beond the reservoir on the photo.

Brian,
The area to the right (NE) of the track appears to be the location of the site compound when the reservoir was refurbished in the 1960s. The Danes Pad is supposed to be on the other side of the track (SW) and might have just survived in the corner of the field nearest the reservoir. The Danes Pad has never been proved west of Kirkham so it could be a worthwile excavation!
David

Brian,
It would appear from the photo that the water board's land is that light coloured mown area surrounding the reservoir, the said field is probably the local farmers.

Brian/Frank,
In the farmer's field there seems to have been an old pond (lighter brown) where the track bends - and the Danes Pad is supposed to have gone between the pond and the modern track. There has been so much disturbance there with the works it is a bit of a long shot at finding anything though.