It’s been underwater for 74 years after being flooded to make way for a large reservoir to serve the East Midlands.
Now, this remarkable set of photographs of the ‘drowned’ British village of Ashopton is going up for auction, showing what it looked like in the late 19th and early 20th century before it became Derbyshire’s Atlantis.
The village, which had a Victorian steepled church, had a population of about 100 people but it was lost in 1943 to make way for a large reservoir to serve the growing populations of Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester.
A group of young people posed on Ouzeldon Bridge which was lost along with the village of Ashopton in Derbyshire
The Winthorpes, who lived in the village, are pictured. It has been underwater for 74 years after being flooded for a reservoir
This is one in a series of remarkable photographs of the ‘drowned’ village of Ashopton in Derbyshire that has come to light
Villagers in their Sunday best outside the Ashopton Inn. The village had a population of about 100 but it was lost in 1943
Another image shows villagers in North Derbyshire washing their sheep in the river in the late 19th century
Ashopton boasted a 17th century hall, a Victorian steepled church, a Georgian coaching inn and dozens of cottages
A horse and carriage at the Ashopton Inn in the early 1900s. Silt has already covered the remains of the village’s buildings
Ashopton also boasted a 17th century hall, a toll cottage, a Georgian coaching inn and dozens of cottages. The collection also contains photos of neighbouring Derwent, which was drowned by the Ladybower Reservoir.
Most of the buildings were demolished before the waters poured in, but Derwent’s church spire was left to form a memorial. However Ashopton will never re-emerge as silt has already covered the remains of its buildings.
One photograph shows a group of young people posed on Ouzeldon Bridge which is no longer there. Another image shows villagers washing their sheep in the river in the late 19th century.
Ashopton was in the vale of the River Ashop and the village hosted an annual wool fair. Many of the villagers worked on farms or on the estates of the Duke of Devonshire or the Duke of Norfolk.
The Ladybower Reservoir was officially unveiled on September 25, 1945 by King George VI in front of a crowd of 25,000 people. The postcards have been consigned for auction by a collector from Derbyshire.
The vendor, who wishes to remain anonymous, was fascinated that there was a lost village so close to where she lives – and has amassed the collection of postcards over the past 30 years.
Many of the villagers of Ashopton worked on farms or on the estates of the Duke of Devonshire or the Duke of Norfolk
The old toll house of Ashopton, which later became known as Derbyshire’s Atlantis following the flooding in the 1940s
The postcards have been consigned for auction by a collector from Derbyshire who has amassed them over the past 30 years
The village was lost to make way for a large reservoir to serve the populations of Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester
The vendor, who wishes to remain anonymous, was fascinated that there was a lost village so close to where she lives
Schoolchildren on Ouzeldon Bridge, with Derwent Hall pictured behind. The vendor said she is ‘fascinated’ by Ashopton
The old toll house in Ashopton, one of the photos in a set expected to sell for just £50 at auction next week
The collection contains photos of neighbouring Derwent, home of Derwent Hall, which was drowned by the reservoir
She said: ‘These postcards are like gold dust. I dealt in postcards for many years as we used to have a shop in Derbyshire. I became fascinated by the story of Ashopton.
‘Whenever I came across a postcard of the village it was a great find because you hardly ever saw one. This is a treasured album and I doubt there is another one like it anywhere else in the world.’
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: ‘It’s hard to believe in today’s world, where conservation is so important, that the government would allow two picturesque villages to be submerged under water.
‘The history books tell us that there was strong opposition to the move but the authorities insisted more water was needed to serve Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and Sheffield.’
The photos are tipped to sell for just £50 at the auction taking place in Etwall, Derbyshire, next Wednesday.
A family throw stones into the water at Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire in June, which now sits on top of the old village
A man carries out a spot of fishing on Ladybower Reservoir in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire in April 2015
The Ashopton viaduct spans the water at the Ladybower Reservoir in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire
The reservoir was officially unveiled in September 1945 by King George VI in front of a crowd of 25,000 people