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Loscoe Dam, Furnace Lane, Loscoe, c 1900
Image ref
DCAV000032
Credit
Derbyshire Libraries
photographer
Copyright Reserved
ImageDate
1900?
Location
Off Furnace Lane
Town
Loscoe
About this image
It can be traced hack to the 1300s and was owned by the Zouches of Codnor Castle. It was used as a fish and waterfowl pond, supplying fresh food for the occupants. It later supplied water for the foundry which used to be on Furnace Lane. Loscoe Dam has even been used for religious purposes. On Whit Sunday in 1862, there was a mass baptism held there, with a 'vast crowd from the surrounding district' witnessing the baptism of 7 people. Apparently the dam was about twice its present size, the trees at the top end being about the middle prior to the field at the top being filled in by the old Heanor Urban District Council as a landfill just after the first war. The dam was a popular place with families in the late 20's and early 30's, there would be a brass band in the field on Sundays and an ice cream man by the stile into the field. To the south side of the dam head was Ormonde colliery but between the stockyard and the dam head was a burning waste tip. As with most tips it burned from the inside and the only signs that it was burning was when bricks were thrown through the crust to release fearsome blasts of heat and the appalling stink of burning sulphur. The tip became extremely dangerous and was removed in the late 40's-early 50's. By the mid 50's the dam became popular once again. Today Loscoe Dam is a favoured spot for bird-watching and fishing.
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