Ashopton
Ashopton was a small village in northernmost Derbyshire, in the vale of the River Ashop, until 1939 when it was evacuated so that the valley could be flooded for a reservoir. In 1943 the village was demolished, and it now lies beneath the waters of the Ladybower Reservoir, as does its near neighbour, Derwent.
At the time of its abandonment, the village population was less than 100.
History
The village was in the chapelry of Derwent. In 1829, Stephen Glover wrote that the village hosted a wool fair on 29 July; he suggested that this was intended to be a tradition continued annually on the last Wednesday of July.[1]
The village stood near where the Derwent Valley joins the Snake Valley, (the route of the current A57 Snake Pass to Glossop). There are several reminders of the village: one is in the name of the Ashopton Viaduct which carries the A57 across the mouth of the Derwent Valley. The main part of the village was located immediately to the south of the viaduct. Other reminders of the village include Ashopton Sawmill and Ashopton Cottage nearby.
Though the remains of Derwent Village become visible when water levels drop, Ashopton remains invisible within the waters of Ladybower and silt has already covered the remains of its buildings.
The social centre of the village in its time was the Methodist Chapel, built in 1840. The final service was held at the chapel on 25 September 1939.[2] The final hymn sung was "The Day's Dying in the West". The chapel was finally demolished, along with the remaining buildings in the village, in 1943.
Museum
The Derwent Valley Museum, also known as the Dambusters Museum is located in a tower on the Derwent Reservoir dam and run privately by Vic Hallam. It tells the history of the Derwent valley and of Derwent and Ashopton as well as the tale of RAF Squadron 617 and its training for Operation Chastise during the Second World War.[3]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Ashopton) |
- Location map: 53°22’26"N, 1°42’41"W
References
- ↑ Glover, Stephen: 'The history of the county of Derby, Part 2' (H. Mozley and Son, 1829) page 50
- ↑ Hallam, Vic: 'Silent Valley: the story of the lost Derbyshire villages of Derwent and Ashopton' (Sheaf Publishing Ltd, 1989) ISBN 0-9505458-9-9
- ↑ Peak Distruict View: The Dambusters Museum