Over the years, the construction of man-made reservoirs has been responsible for the loss of many local communities.

From the end of the 19th century, when people began to move from the country to cities and towns, the growing population increased the demand for water.

This meant reservoirs had to be built that led to the destruction of the villages that occupied the chosen sites.

Now churches, village halls, cottages and mansions sit on reservoir beds across the UK and are all that’s left of the communities which once occupied them.

Contents

• Ladybower Reservoir
• Rutland Water
• Thruscross Reservoir
• Pontsticill Reservoir
• Haweswater Reservoir
• Llyn Celyn Reservoir

Ladybower Reservoir

In the Peak District, Ladybower Reservoir is still famous as the practise ground for the RAF’s 617 Squadron, better known as ‘The Dambusters’ during World War Two.

It’s the largest of three reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley, the other two being Derwent Reservoir and Howden Reservoir. The three have a combined capacity of 464 billion litres of water.

Ladybower was built between 1935 and 1943, and took another two years to fill. At the time it was the largest reservoir in Britain and two small but thriving villages, Derwent and Ashopton and were flooded in the process.

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Derwent was a tight-knit community. The River Derwent flowed through it under stone bridges and next to it stood cottages, houses and a school. The village church of St John and St James had been built in 1757.

There was also a manor house, Derwent Hall. This imposing building was once owned by the Duke of Norfolk. Its grounds feature ornamental gardens and a fishpond.

Coaching Inn

The second village, Ashopton, was larger and busier, standing at a crossroads on the main road between Sheffield and Glossop. There was a large coaching inn, The Ashopton Inn, a popular stop for visitors and a handy local watering hole for the villagers themselves.

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Ashopton was also home to a Post Office and General Store, a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, a garage and numerous pretty stone houses and farms. Its industry revolved around farming and an annual wool fair was held every July.

The Day’s Dying in the West

Despite fierce local opposition, the buildings in both villages were compulsory purchased by the Derwent Valley Water Board between 1935 and 1945. The people living there were forced to move to the nearby village of Bamford.

The bodies of their relatives were exhumed from the churchyard and the buildings demolished.

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The church of St John and St James in Derwent held its final service on March 17th 1943. The final service at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Ashopton was on September 25th 1939, with the last hymn reportedly being ‘The Day’s Dying in the West’. The chapel was demolished in 1943.

What was left of both villages was swallowed up by the water as Ladybower Reservoir was filled to capacity in 1945. 

Derwent’s church of St John and St James had been mostly pulled down but the spire was left as a memorial. It was visible above the water line for over a year and then finally demolished in 1947.

Not all the buildings in Derwent had to be sacrificed for the construction of the reservoir. A few houses remain and there is still a civil parish of Derwent, albeit with a very small population.

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A 17th century packhorse bridge that once crossed the River Derwent close to the Hall was saved. When the Derwent Hall was demolished, it was removed stone by stone and rebuilt at the head of Howden Reservoir in 1959, in an area known as Slippery Stones. The bridge is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Rutland Water

It’s now a tourist attraction known for its wildlife, but as with Ladybower, there was strong local opposition to the construction of Rutland Water. Created as a reservoir and located in England’s smallest county, it became Europe’s largest man-made lake when the twin valleys of the River Gwash were flooded in the mid 1970s.

The ball had started rolling back in the 1960s. A reservoir was needed to supply water to the expanding East Midlands population and the Gwash valleys were chosen from sixty four sites in and around the Northamptonshire area.

The main reasons being the availability of clay within the reservoir area to build the dam, the close proximity of the River Welland and the River Nene to supply the water required, and its central location to the areas of population that it was to serve.

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Once started, the reservoir took almost a decade to complete. Work started in 1971, the first water flowed into it in 1975 and it took until 1979 to fill.

A large area of fertile land was flooded that had been farmed for thousands of years. Archaeological investigation before and during the construction of the reservoir revealed evidence of Iron Age hut circles, Saxon houses and cemeteries, and Roman farmsteads, along with medieval dwellings and barns.

Medieval Village

Until the early twentieth century, most of the land affected had been owned by a few aristocratic families. Both estates had long been broken up and sold, and by the time of building of the reservoir, much of the land had been put to agricultural use.

But there was a hamlet at the western end of the southern arm of what was to become Rutland Water.

Nether Hambleton was a small scattered community of houses and farms, but it was a devastating blow to the villagers to learn that they would lose their homes and some their livelihoods.

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One of the properties which was demolished, Beehive Cottage, was one of the oldest in the county. Also lost were the earthworks of a medieval village which was deserted in the 14th century because of the plague.

Nether Hambleton sat in the valley bottom with the parish of Lyndon to the south. Nether Hambleton itself lay within the larger parish of Hambleton.

Upper Hambleton still exists on a peninsula which projects into Rutland Water.

Nether Hambleton was on the edge of what was to be Rutland Water, so the water was going to be relatively shallow. With this in mind, all the buildings, bushes and trees were removed. In other reservoirs, buildings remain below the surface, but with Rutland they didn’t want to risk the possible pollution of what was going to be drinking water.

There was fierce opposition from the residents to the building of the reservoir, but when it went ahead, most stayed local and moved to areas which were close by.

Thruscross Reservoir

Thruscross Reservoir sits north of Otley and West of Harrogate. It is the most northern of four reservoirs in Yorkshire’s Washburn Valley and the village of West End lies beneath it’s waters.

West End was small by any standards. It had just half a dozen houses and became increasingly isolated following the decline of Yorkshire’s flax industry. During the late 17th and 18th centuries, this was an industry that thrived.

However the popularity of the new synthetics in the 19th century sent it into a downward spiral. As a consequence, many of the residents of West End, which had its own flax mill, had to leave and find work elsewhere.

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It had been described locally as a ghost town as far back in the early 1900s and the final curtain fell in 1966. It wasn’t simply a case of flooding the village though. Trees had to be cleared, all sacred objects were removed from the church and bodies exhumed from the churchyard.

These were reburied elsewhere so family members still had somewhere to visit.

Today, when hot summers bring periods of drought and the water level drops, piles of rubble are revealed, which were once the buildings that made up West End. These include the ruins of the former mill.

Pontsticill Reservoir

Pontsticill Reservoir in Powys was opened in 1927 to supply water to Merthyr Tydfil and much of the South Wales Valleys area.

It was originally called Taff Fechan Reservoir and the remains of the town of Taff Fechan lie beneath the water. Construction of the reservoir meant flooding the valley and the loss of farms, cottages, a chapel and a graveyard, the residents of which were moved to a new burial ground in Pontsticill provided by the Taff Fechan Water Board.

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Taff Fechan’s chapel, Bethlehem Independent, opened in 1829 and had a small but active congregation for ninety years.

When the building of the reservoir was proposed in 1913, the chapel was moved to Ponsticill, but by 1968 the  congregation had dwindled and it was sold for private use.

Often in summer months when reservoir levels are at their lowest, the remains of the original building rise above the water.

Haweswater Reservoir

Haweswater Reservoir in Cumbria was originally a naturally  lake. It was controversially dammed after Parliament passed a private act giving Manchester Corporation permission to build the reservoir, to supply the city with drinking water.

The decision caused a public outcry because the farming villages of Measand and Mardale Green, considered some of of the most picturesque in the country,  would be flooded and the valley altered forever.

Before the valley was flooded in 1935, all the farms and dwellings of both villages were demolished, including Mardale Green’s  centuries-old Dun Bull Inn.

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All the bodies in the churchyard were exhumed and re-buried at Shap, while stone from the dismantled village church was used in constructing the dam.

When the water in the reservoir is low, the remains of Mardale Green can be seen, including stone walls and the village bridge.

Llyn Celyn Reservoir

Capel Celyn was a village In Gwynedd, Wales, northwest of Bala in the Afon Tryweryn valley and one of the few remaining Welsh-only speaking communities.

In 1965, it was flooded along with other parts of the valley to create Llyn Celyn reservoir, which would supply water for the needs of industry in Liverpool.

This was hugely controversial as Liverpool City Council did not require planning consent from the local Welsh authorities, as the reservoir was approved by an Act of Parliament.

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As a consequence there was no local debate on the proposal, but the plans caused so much outrage amongst locals, that hundreds protested for months on the streets of Liverpool.

Despite this, the government voted by 166 votes to 117 to go ahead with the plans in 1957. As a result, the village and its buildings, including the post office, the school, and a chapel with cemetery, were all lost. Twelve houses and farms were submerged, and 48 people of the 67 who lived in the valley lost their homes.

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The controversy and protests over the construction of Llyn Celyn Reservoir in the Tryweryn Valley of North Wales during the 1950s and 1960s were a significant chapter in Welsh history and the broader context of the relationship between Wales and England.

Controversy and Protests:

1. Selection of the Tryweryn Valley: The Liverpool Corporation Waterworks Committee decided to build a reservoir in the Tryweryn Valley to supply water to the city of Liverpool and its surrounding areas. This decision was met with resistance as the valley was home to a Welsh-speaking community with a strong sense of identity.
2. Compulsory Purchase of Land: To make way for the reservoir, the Liverpool Corporation invoked compulsory purchase orders, forcing local farming families to leave their homes and land. This action deeply upset the affected families and led to the loss of their cultural and agricultural heritage.
3. Opposition from Local Residents: The local Welsh population strongly opposed the project. They argued that it represented the continued exploitation of Wales and its resources for the benefit of England, echoing historical grievances.
4. Formation of the Tryweryn Defence Committee: In 1957, the Tryweryn Defence Committee was established to coordinate resistance to the reservoir’s construction. It included local residents, activists, and sympathetic individuals from across Wales and beyond.
5. Protests and Demonstrations: The Tryweryn Defence Committee organized protests and demonstrations, including marches, rallies, and acts of civil disobedience. They sought to draw attention to their cause and resist the eviction of local families.
6. Legal Challenges: Legal challenges were mounted to halt or modify the project. However, the legal battles did not ultimately prevent the reservoir’s construction.
7. Opening of the Reservoir: Llyn Celyn Reservoir was officially opened in 1965, despite the ongoing opposition. It led to the flooding of the Tryweryn Valley and the displacement of families.
8. Symbol of Welsh Nationalism: The construction of Llyn Celyn Reservoir became a symbol of Welsh nationalism and anti-English sentiment. It contributed to a growing sense of Welsh identity and calls for greater autonomy and recognition.
9. Legacy: The controversy and protests over Llyn Celyn Reservoir remain part of Welsh historical memory. In later years, there were efforts to provide compensation to the displaced families and acknowledgments of the injustices they faced.

The events surrounding Llyn Celyn Reservoir are often cited as a turning point in Welsh history, fostering a sense of solidarity and cultural preservation among the Welsh people. It also highlighted issues related to land use, cultural preservation, and the relationship between Wales and England.

In 2005 Liverpool officially apologised for the flooding.