Derwent was a village 'drowned' in 1944 when the
Ladybower Reservoir 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 ...
, England, was created. The village of
Ashopton, Derwent Woodlands church, and Derwent Hall were also 'drowned' in the construction of the reservoir.
Demolition

All buildings in the village had been demolished by autumn 1943, and the impounded waters of the reservoir began to rise by the end of 1944.
A 17th-century
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 ...
in the village had a preservation order which prevented it from being demolished. In order to comply with this, the bridge was transported from the original location near Derwent Hall and reconstructed at the head of
Howden Reservoir at Slippery Stones. It is now part of the footpaths and cycle tracks that run along the reservoirs. The bridge is a
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
, and it is one of the very few structures from Derwent village to have completely survived the reservoir's construction and still be visible.
The church held its last service on 17 March 1943. The bell from the church may still be heard in Derbyshire, however, since it was re-hung in St Philip's Church in
Chaddesden
Chaddesden, also known locally as Chadd, is a large residential suburb of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire, England. Historically a separate village centred on Chaddesden Hall and the 14th century St Mary's Church, the area was sig ...
, built in 1955. The stained glass from the east window of the church, designed by
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lychg ...
, was saved and installed into the east window of
St Michael and All Angels' Church, Hathersage. Bodies from the graveyard at Derwent had been exhumed in 1940 and were reburied in the village of
Bamford. The church spire was left intact to form a memorial to Derwent. However, it was dynamited on 15 December 1947, on the rationale of safety concerns.
Remains

The site of the village has been revealed when the reservoir levels fell dramatically in 1976, 1989, 1995, 2003, 2018 and 2022.
In 2018, the appearance of the village due to low water levels caused unprecedented crowds to visit the rarely visible site. On 3 November 2018, a man had to be rescued by a mountain rescue team after getting stuck in extremely thick mud around the ruins of the village.
On 17 November 2018 it was reported that the site had been vandalised by some of those visiting, with park rangers forced to stop visitors removing items from the site and with graffiti scrawled on some buildings.
Although nearly the whole village was flooded, a few houses survive above the waterline. One source notes that five houses from the old village remain, as well as the village hall and several farms. There remains a
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of Derwent. At the time of the
2001 UK census
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.
The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...
, it had a population of 51. At the 2011 Census, the population remained less than 100. Details were included in the civil parish of
Aston, Derbyshire.
The most significant surviving reminder of Derwent Village is the village's
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 ...
, painted in 1925 by the artist
Stanley Royle. The bridge was transported and rebuilt at the head of Howden Reservoir at Slippery Stones where it now forms part of the paths and cycle tracks around the Derwent Valley reservoirs.
The Derwent Valley Museum, formerly located on the
Derwent Reservoir dam and run privately by the late
Vic Hallam, told the history of the Derwent valley and of Derwent and
Ashopton as well as the tale of
RAF Squadron 617 ("The Dam Busters") and its training for ''
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise, commonly known as the Dambusters Raid, was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using spe ...
'' during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
There is no formal memorial to any of the villages. However, the site of the temporary village at
Birchinlee, built to house the construction workers for the higher
Derwent and
Howden Reservoirs, is marked by a plaque. The only marker of the location of Derwent is the village's War Memorial, which stands above
Ladybower Reservoir at a point to the west of the village.
Notable residents
*
Charles Balguy was born at Derwent Hall in 1707.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Derwent, Derbyshire
*
List of places in Derbyshire
*
Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn was a rural community to the northwest of Bala in Gwynedd, Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded in the Tryweryn flooding of 1965 to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn
Llyn ...
(similar village 'drowned' to create a reservoir)
*
Derwent Woodlands War Memorial
References
External links
Peeping Tom statue moved from Derwent Hall to Castleton Hall YHA
{{authority control
Villages in Derbyshire
Towns and villages of the Peak District
History of Derbyshire
Former populated places in Derbyshire
British country houses destroyed in the 20th century
Civil parishes in Derbyshire
Forcibly depopulated communities in the United Kingdom
High Peak, Derbyshire