1) In contexts which relate to water mills, reservoirs or drainage systems, a ‘shuttle’ was a flood-gate; that is a hatch or ‘door’ which controlled the flow of water and needed to be raised to allow it to flow freely.
In 1880-1, the Minutes of Council for Huddersfield recorded that the Waterworks Committee proceeded to Wessenden Head Reservoir … and the keys of the inlet shuttle at Shing [sic for Shining] Brook were delivered to the Commissioners. Much earlier references have been noted: 1549 to make a over shotyll a honest goyt to brynge watter to the sayd whell, Ecclesfield and some of them suggest that it could be a substantial structure: 1612-6 all the tymber … needfull for the shuttlestocke … all boards for an over shuttle, Golcar: the ‘over shuttle’ may have been part of the ‘pentrough’. Later references include: 1659 we lay in paine that one shutle att Armitage, standing in the ground of Matthew Blackburne, in the water course … be taken up for the space betwixt Michaellmas day and Martinmas day every yeare, South Crosland
1789 for a fulling mill … weirs, dams, goits, shuttles, Kirkburton. The word gave rise to a number of minor place-names, e.g. 1638 noe man shall make a foote waye from Upper Shuttle upp Myres unto Ridingswell, Lepton. Other examples include 1720 Shuttle Ing
1798 Shuttle Close. Such field-names may serve to identify mill sites when the building itself has disappeared.