The Victorian Toxteth Reservoir
A short while ago, our Cath, went online, as she new our love for local history, because she had seen an advert to visit Toxteth Reservoir… This iconic Liverpool Building, was built in the 1800’s, to supply water to the ‘Merchant’ Houses and Mansions, around the Toxteth/Sefton Park area of the city.
I have been wanting to take a look in here for ages, and as I work in the construction lecturing team of a local vocational college (I specialise in Plumbing), I really wanted to see how the building was constructed in order to hold the amount of water, contained in it… so I was exited to be going… and had told all my colleagues, who were quite envious.
The ‘blurb’ whetted my apatite, as it was described as “Come and see this wonderful Building which for 100 years, held 2 million gallons of water. Immerse yourself in the cave-like vaults, with its history and mystery“…
This seemed like the very thing for local history buffs, such as Ann & I… what more could we ask for, on this bright sunny day… However, the reality was soon to hit us and give a totally different concept… for the reservoir had been turned into a ‘light and sound’ show.. not at all what I was expecting…
Inside the reservoir
We were told that there would be some water in the reservoir, and were offered wellington boots but as it was only about 10mm, we thought it would be fine… with what we had… we were led into the space, in total darkness, and found ourselves guided by laser paths along a metal walkway covered by the water… once we had found a position, we all stood in this water for about 40 minutes, watching this light show… I must admit I found the whole experience quite bizarre…
the experience reminded, me of the winter of 1982, when as a young plumber on a maintenance team in the city, I would visit empty properties, in the dead of night, with no lights, and standing in a house in totally darkness, and an inch of water beneath my feet, with only a torch in my hand… hunting to locate the bursts to either shut the water off or repair the leaks… very odd !!!
The arches of the reservoir
Every now and then, we’d catch a glimpse of the building structure, but the lights would once again go out… on the whole, we were in total darkness for most of the time… One of the guides, was standing by me, and about 20 minutes in, I asked… “is it all like this?”… he replied “no of course not… the lasers will come on in a minute”… I was tempted to say, “are you having a laugh?”… but bit my lip… and carried on with the photos… lol.
Ice sculptures lowered and risen from above
Others in the 50 strong group… were in awe of the artistic attributes of the spectacle, along with the sound effects, and although impressive as a whole, I cant say I’ll be rushing back for another look, any time soon… I’ll have to wait for a structured historical tour, which I believe is offered at certain times of the year…
Time for a coffee…. lol