Manvers Lake was created in the 1990's as part of the remediation works following the closure of the Wath Main & Manvers Main colliery complex and associated railway yards.

 

One of the largest collieries was Manvers Main which incorporated what was at one time the biggest coking plant in Western Europe. From 1950 to 1956, Manvers became the centre of coal output from the collieries known as the South Manvers complex that were linked below ground, including Wath Main, Barnburgh Colliery and Kilnhurst.

 

The colliery complex was closed on 25th March 1988 and the regeneration that has taken place since those smog filled days is astounding. After closure, the site remained derelict until the mid-1990s, when Rotherham Council initiated an ambitious regeneration programme. Manvers, Wath Main Colliery and the Wath railway marshalling yard were demolished, cleared of contamination and landscaped. The site was given a new lease of life with the development of business parks, a nature reserve and the creation of Manvers Lake.

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In addition to its amenity and recreational value, the lake also serves a functional purpose as a balancing lake forming part of a sustainable urban drainage scheme for the surrounding residential and industrial developments.