Reservoir which supplied the Elsecar branch of the Dearne and Dove canal, which opened in 1798 (Glister 1995, 118). Coal from the collieries in the Elsecar area was transported via the canal. The prospect of the development of the canal encouraged Earl Fitzwilliam to sink a new colliery, Elsecar New (HSY7018) in 1794, and would it have been a factor in the siting of the Darwin and company ironworks (HSY6992) (Medlicott 1987, 108, 110). This branch of the canal closed in 1928 due to subsidence and silting problems (Glister 1995, 120). By this time there was substantial competition from the railways. The reservoir was built on the edge of the Hoyland open field. There is no legibility of this landscape.