Village completely drowned in 1940s as huge sacrifice now stunning lake | UK | Travel

It lies at the base of a well-loved walking destination in Derbyshire but it was formerly a location that people inhabited before it was deliberately flooded and submerged.

During the 1940s the picturesque village of Derwent was methodically dismantled and engulfed beneath what we now recognise as Ladybower Reservoir.

The expansive, stunning azure expanse of water is frequently a location for pausing and admiring scenery as ramblers and walkers venture through the Peak District, and yet they have no notion what rests beneath it.

The reason for its submersion was to assist in supplying water for the flourishing industrial areas across the East Midlands throughout World War Two.

Locals were relocated, and by 1945 the valley had been flooded with water, with remnants of what survives resting below.

Derwent before it drowned

Before the era of conflict engulfed Britain, Derwent had seemed like a permanent fixture in the moorlands, with its century-old structures and robust community.

Two initial dams were constructed after the water authority had selected an isolated location in the valley. This meant numerous inhabitants were impacted. Those who had farms or smallholdings were relocated to safety at the likes of Derwent and the neighbouring village of Ashopton.

What they didn’t realise was that this section of the valley, and their charming village which they called home, would shortly vanish.

The village church conducted its final service for locals on 17 March 1943, before it was submerged beneath the reservoir. Fragments of the church are scattered across Derby, with the bell being re-hung in St Philip’s Church in Chaddesden.

Despite the majority of the area being deliberately flooded with water, a few houses remain above the waterline. Reports indicate five houses from the original village remain, including a couple of farms and the old village hall.

An elderly resident of Bamford, Mabel, who was 92 at the time of the interview, spoke to BBC Travel about her childhood in the vicinity and what she remembers of Derwent.

She revealed: “I may be the last person who remembers Ashopton and Derwent,” stating that her school was in Derwent, where she attended during the construction of the reservoir.

The village emerged

In periods of high heat or low water levels, the reservoir has dried up, and eerily, remnants of the village have surfaced. There have been several recorded instances of this happening, the first time being in 1976, much to the surprise of locals.

However, the most recent, and thus most significant, time the village was visible once again was in 2018, when the reservoir levels dropped dramatically and people flocked from all over to witness the unusual sight.

An unprecedented crowd gathered, and the attention that the old buildings – which are mostly rubble of bricks – received led to a number of issues.

On 3 November that year, a man had to be rescued from the site by mountain rescue, as he became severely stuck in the dense mud surrounding the ruins of Derwent.

Likewise, due to the volume of people at the site, the remains were defaced with graffiti, and consequently, park rangers had to compel visitors to cease coming, as other items were also taken from the site.