The Upper Derwent Valley is an area of the
Peak District National Park Peak or The Peak may refer to:
Basic meanings Geology
* Mountain peak
** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics
* Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion
* Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...
in England. It largely lies in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
, but its north eastern area lies in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
,
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...
. Its most significant features are the Derwent Dams, Ladybower, Derwent and Howden, which form
Ladybower Reservoir,
Derwent Reservoir and
Howden Reservoir respectively.
History
In 1899, the
Derwent Valley Water Board was set up to supply water to
Derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
,
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
,
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
and
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, and the two
Gothic-style dams were built across the
River Derwent to create Howden Reservoir (1912) and Derwent Reservoir (1916).
West of the Derwent a large village known as
Birchinlee, locally known as 'Tin Town', was created for the 'navvies'—the workers who built the dams—and their families, many of whom came from the
Elan Valley Reservoirs in Wales.
One of the buildings was salvaged and rebuilt at
Hope
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large.
As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...
where in 2014 it was reported to be housing a beauty parlour.
The villages in the Upper Derwent Valley:
*
Bamford
*
Yorkshire Bridge
*
Hathersage
*
Grindleford
*
Calver
A standard-gauge railway, for transporting materials, connected the Water Board offices in Bamford with the work site. A section of the track of the railway is now a footpath; other sections are visible when water levels in the reservoirs are low. The railway engine house no longer exists at the old offices. The offices are now occupied by a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
group.

Over the decades, demand for water increased. Piped intakes were constructed from the rivers
Ashop and
Alport to the west to feed directly into the Derwent reservoir, but soon demand increased further to the point where another reservoir was required. The larger Ladybower Reservoir, built largely during World War II, necessitated the flooding of the villages of Derwent and Ashopton, with the occupants being relocated to the Yorkshire Bridge estate, just downstream of Ladybower dam. A
packhorse bridge
A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low Parapet#Bridg ...
with a preservation order on it also had to be moved, and was rebuilt at Slippery Stones, north of Howden Reservoir. The bodies in the churchyard were exhumed and reburied at Bamford. The reservoir was completed in 1945.
The topographical similarity between the Upper Derwent Valley and the
Ruhr Valley of Germany led to the dams being used as a practice environment for the
Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron (
Dam Busters) in 1943 before their attack on the Ruhr dams.
''The Dam Busters'' film was subsequently filmed at the Derwent Dams, and the area sees occasional commemorative
flypast
''FlyPast'' is an aircraft magazine, published monthly, edited by Tom Allett, Steve Beebee and Jamie Ewan.
History and profile
The magazine started as a bi-monthly edition in May/June 1981 and its first editor was the late Mike Twite. It is ow ...
s by the
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force Flight (military unit), flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster heavy bomber and two fighters, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurr ...
.
The reservoirs cover 198.50 square kilometres, and can hold 463,692 million litres. The main beneficiary of the reservoirs' water is
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, less than away, but the reservoirs are also connected to the
Severn Trent's water grid that extends to mid-Wales and
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
. The reservoirs were originally intended to supply water to the cities of Sheffield, Derby, Leicester and Nottingham. Sheffield was supplied with "raw" water for treatment in its own treatment plants. The other cities were supplied with treated water. Water was treated at the Yorkshire Bridge works (now converted to apartments), and at the much bigger Bamford Filter works, much expanded in the 1960s.
The area is good for rare birds, including
black grouse
The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large Aves, bird in the grouse family. It is a Bird migration, sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in m ...
and
goshawk. Much of the surrounding land is administered by the
National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
and is popular as a recreational area for walking and cycling.
Incidents
On 9 May 2016, a large moor fire was accidentally caused by a
disposable barbecue on the moors above Ladybower Reservoir. The fire required the attendance of twelve fire engines from eight stations,
Edale Mountain Rescue, and
Peak Park and
National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
officials. Because of an incident involving a vehicle and a member of the emergency services, a
Coastguard SAR helicopter and
Yorkshire Air Ambulance were also required on the scene. The injured person was airlifted to the
Northern General Hospital
The Northern General Hospital is a large teaching hospital and Major Trauma Centre in Sheffield, England. Its departments include accident and emergency for adults, with children being treated at the Sheffield Children's Hospital on Western Ba ...
in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
. During the incident all access roads to the reservoir were closed, though the
A57 Snake Pass was unaffected.
References
External links
Hydroinformatics information, Newcastle UniversityThe Upper Derwent: 10,000 years in a Peak District valley. The History Press
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Valleys of Derbyshire
River Derwent, Derbyshire
Valleys of South Yorkshire
Areas of Sheffield
Valleys of the Peak District
Valleys of Yorkshire
Tourist attractions of the Peak District