Story of one of Northern Ireland's forgotten settlements is revived

One of the former houses built to accomodate the Silent Valley Reservoir's engineers has been refurbished and reopened to the public.

In the 1920s, while the Silent Valley Reservoir was built, Watertown sprung up to accommodate the many engineers and labourers involved in building the important water source which supplies drinking water to a fifth of homes in Belfast and County Down,

placeholder image — Pictured L-R at the official opening of Watertown House at the Silent Valley reservoir is Dr Len OHagan CBE Chairman NI Water, John and Tom Haugh, Marie Ward, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Dr Jim McGreevy, Heritage Lottery Fund.

Unfortunately, when the reservoir was completed in 1933, the houses in Watertown fell empty and a number of houses were sold, however funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund has allowed the relocation and restoration of one of the original houses known as Watertown House.

The grade B listed building was kindly donated by the Haugh family and dates back to 1923.

John Haugh’s grandmother, Mary Cunningham, lived in the house for half a decade before her passing in 2010. He said: “I am looking forward to it being officially opened to the public as it is an important part of our local heritage and history. From a personal view, my grandmother’s hut will be preserved for many years to come.”

At its peak, there were almost 2000 workers on site at the reservoir, with approximately one third of these living in Watertown.

The self-contained settlement had a range of amenities including its own police station, cinema and dance hall.

It is reputed to have been the first town in Ireland to have street lights.

Welcoming Watertown House back onto NI Water land, Dr Len O’Hagan CBE, NI Water commented: “The Silent Valley reservoir’s creation almost a century ago was an amazing triumph of engineering. It remains a stunning resource which is an integral part of water infrastructure in Northern Ireland supplying 120 million litres of water each day to homes and businesses.”

Dr Jim McGreevy, member of Heritage Lottery Fund committee for NI said: “The house has been carefully dismantled, relocated and restored as a walk in museum, featuring artefacts from the 1920/1930s to give visitors a taste of what life was like for the dam builders of the Silent Valley.”