Denton Reservoirs, Manchester Rd
The two Denton Reservoirs are on the north side of Manchester Rd adjoining Denton Station and they predate the construction of the three larger Audenshaw Reservoirs to the north that were constructed between 1877 and 1882. An early reference to them is in The London Gazette, Issue 20659, Page 3960, dated 10 Nov 1846. Manchester Corporation Waterworks (with the power to sell to the Manchester and Salford Waterworks Company). ‘A reservoir near the Sunfield public-house on the Manchester and Hyde turnpike road, in the township of Denton, in the County of Lancaster.’

The same page of The London Gazette details the source of water supply to Denton Reservoirs. ‘An aqueduct or main pipes from the intended reservoir near Tetley Fold, in the said township of Godley (i.e. Godley Reservoir), to the reservoir in the said township of Denton, ····, with a branch to the present reservoir of the Company of Proprietors of the Manchester and Salford Waterworks at Gorton ····’

The maintenance of reservoirs and the supply of piped water in the Manchester area by the Manchester and Salford Waterworks Company/Manchester Corporation Waterworks continued until its replacement in 1973. The North West Water Authority Act (1977), in enactment of the Water Act (1973), made this authority henceforth responsible for water conservation, the supply of water and the provision of public sewage, etc. Next, there was North West Water (1989) and United Utilities Group plc (1995).

Both reservoirs are now covered over.

Denton Reservoirs, c.1900.

Reservoir House prior to demolition.

Kirby's Garage, Manchester Rd
This garage was on the south side of Manchester Rd and it was demolished in the late 1970s to make way for the construction of the M67 motorway. The company relocated on Dukinfield Rd, Hyde, and then on Corporation Street, Hyde.