Seven Arches Aqueduct And Conduit Facade

The Seven Arches Aqueduct and conduit facade is an aqueduct and water conduit that spans Adel Beck, constructed around 1840. It was designed by engineer George Leather and built by Abraham and Mylne for the Leeds Water Works Company. The structure features rock-faced coursed stone and ashlar, with seven arches supported by slender rectangular piers that have stepped voussoirs and a decking level moulded string course. Above the arches, there are three additional courses leading to a closed conduit. At each end, there are 20th-century safety railings.

The water conduit, dated 1866, includes coursed squared gritstone curbs and revetment walls along the stream bed. Approximately 10 meters downstream from the aqueduct, there is a cast-iron plate that measures about 2.5 meters long and 0.75 meters deep. This plate has mouldings at the top and bottom, three fielded panels framed by raised mouldings, and raised lettering in the center that reads: 'LEEDS CORPORATION/ WATER WORKS/ 1866'.

The Eccup reservoir was built in 1840 to provide clean water to the center of Leeds, serving as the first alternative to the River Aire following the cholera epidemics of the 1830s. Improvements to the water supply included the installation of a new mains in 1866, which is still in use today.