[3] Women in the nearby village of Timble were twice tried at York for witchcraft on the accusation of Edward, who suspected them of possessing his two daughters.

"The Huts", as they were known locally,[6] were constructed to house the workforce, in part using materials from a water mill dismantled in the valley.

However, by 1872 this practice was put to an end due to the damage being caused to the 'Turnpike road', now the A59, and from then on materials were transported by contractors.

On the downside, he complains several times of "rough navvies" occupying the local inn at Timble, and expresses the hope they will soon be gone.

The culvert under the dam itself terminates in an archway topped on the keystone with an ornate carving of the head of Achelous who stares out over the reservoir itself.

Local legend has it that the hall was built by a man named Robinson, who left nearby Fewston to seek his fortune in London.

[7] Stone for the construction of Fewston Reservoir was purchased from the Swinsty Hall quarry in 1874, from a Mr Bramley.