Thornton Reservoir is a small reservoir situated in the National Forest near the village of Thornton in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. It has a surface area of and a perimeter of . It was originally built in 1854 when it had its own treatment works which were situated to the south of the current dam. It is now owned by

Severn Trent Severn Trent plc is a water company based in Coventry, England. It supplies 4.6 million households and business across the Midlands and Wales. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the ...

and the water is treated a few miles away at Cropston Reservoir to which it runs via

Rothley Brook The Rothley Brook is a left bank tributary of the River Soar in Leicestershire, England. Course It first becomes noticeable after Thornton Reservoir, near the village of Thornton in the National Forest. It then flows through Desford and Ra ...

. The reservoir is fed by two small streams which enter from the north via two

weirs A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

. Rothley Brook takes water away from the south. Since 1997 the reservoir and the surrounding land has been open to the public. Facilities include a small

visitor centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...

, a

sculpture trail A sculpture trail - also known as "a culture walk" or "art trail" - is a walkway through open-air galleries of outdoor sculptures along a defined route with sequenced viewings encountered from planned preview and principal sight lines. Setting ...

, a woodland walk and a game fishery. Within the visitor centre is a small

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

and a bait shop which opens at 7.30am daily. Boats can be hired from 8.30am and the most common species of fish are

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

. The

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

also runs around the reservoir. Planning for the reservoir began in 1847. The design included a dam where Locky Bridge had previously stood, the reservoir fed by Carr Brook and Thornton Brook. Behind the dam were two filtration tanks, and from there the water was carried via gravitation to a storage reservoir in

Oadby Oadby is a town in the borough of Oadby and Wigston in the county of Leicestershire, England. Oadby is a district centre south east of Leicester city centre on the A6 trunk road. Leicester Racecourse is situated on the border between Oadby ...

. Supply from the reservoir began in 1853, with

Thomas Cook Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was an English businessman. He is best known for founding the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was also one of the initial developers of the "package tour" including travel, accommodation ...

's Temperance Hall the first building to receive water from it.Elliott, Malcolm (2010) ''Victorian Leicester'', Amberley, , p. 127 The reservoir was thought sufficient to serve Leicester's population of 58,000 at the time, delivering 1.6 million gallons per day, and was the main source of water for the city until the opening of Bradgate Reservoir in 1871. The surface area was originally calculated at 55 acres with the capacity 229 million gallons. The estimated cost of building the reservoir was £80,000. The reservoir was taken out of use in 1982, but was opened up to the public in 1997, with paths around the edge and a trout fishery on the west bank.Thornton Reservoir
, The National Forest. Retrieved 30 June 2014

References

{{authority control Drinking water reservoirs in England Tourist attractions in Leicestershire Parks and open spaces in Leicestershire Reservoirs in Leicestershire