West End’s Debris
Image by tj.blackwell
These bricks on the shoreline of Thruscross Reservoir, swept up from some decaying building at the base of its depths, bear the inscription of ‘Whitaker’, the name of the manufacturer at a former brickworks on Elland Road in Leeds.
The village of West End had a long and varied history dating back to medieval times, so construction materials from every age are periodically dredged from the darkness by the currents of Thruscross – these bricks represent the later part of the village’s life and were probably made in the early to mid 1900s. The death knell for West End sounded in 1961 when work began to build the great dam across the valley.
For a glimpse of how the ruins of West End appear during a drought season, check out some of David Younger’s images taken during the 1990 water shortages. I vaguely remember visiting the area at the time, but it was before my photography days and alas I have no record of it! David got a nice clear shot of the old bridge in the centre of the village, which still stands proud amid the waterlogged desolation. He also captured a good one of people gathered around the rubble of the old church.
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