The Burnbanks 'navvy' settlement was built by Manchester Corporation in the 1930's to house the workers and foremen constructing the Haweswater Dam and reservoir. At Burnbanks, 66 well-appointed dwellings and hostels were provided, as well as a mission, recreation hall, canteen, dispensary, shop, tennis courts and allotments. In size, amenities and character, Burnbanks was effectively a 'model settlement', set down in the sparsely populated Lakeland parish of Bampton. It became an important, distinctive part of local heritage that is now being lost through demolition and redevelopment.
The group aims to compile a record of what still survives of the dam-builder's settlement at Burnbanks through photographs of the site and oral testimony. They intend to recreate the original character of Burnbanks through local and regional collections of photographs, plans, newspapers and official minutes and will illustrate the physical and social character of Burnbanks through an interpretative panel at the site, a local exhibition and the local history's web-site.
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