Britain's official guide to canals, rivers and lakes

Monday 8th September 2008

History of the Alton Water

Alton Water was built in the 1970s to alleviate water shortages in the Ipswich area. The heavy clay in the area made a particularly appropriate base for a new reservoir.

The sites of Alton Hall and Alton Mill were drowned by the advance of the waters. Alton Mill was dismantled and has since been re-erected at the Stowmarket Museum of East Anglian Life.