Thruscross Reservoir, in the Washburn valley north of Otley, is one of four reservoirs in the area supplying water to the city of Leeds. It was only completed in 1966, much later than the others which date back to the 19th century. In order to construct it, the village of West End had to be flooded. The ruin in my photos is an old flax mill, usually at least partially submerged. Therein lies one of the reasons, I guess, that they chose this village to sacrifice to a reservoir, since it was reliant on the the flax industry, which had substantially declined since the 19th century, as synthetic fibres took over. I understand that by the early 20th century the village was effectively a 'ghost town', as its inhabitants moved away to find work. Before flooding the valley, they cleared trees and exhumed bodies from the churchyard to rebury them elsewhere, and you can apparently still see old tree stumps and the ruins of houses and a bridge when the water level is particularly low. Normally it would come up to the line of bracken in my photo, so it was low when I was there. I couldn't really see the old village, though there looks to be some walls in the third photo.
I didn't know much about flax, to be honest, but on looking it up it seems it is a plant grown for its seeds and fibres. From the seeds comes linseed oil, whilst linen is made from the fibres found in the stem of the plant. I don't know what this mill made, but I imagine it was a textile mill producing linen, used in bedding and clothing. Flax is also used to make rope, canvas and paper.
