A ‘lost’ village which has re-emerged due to low water levels has been vandalised.
The town of Derwent in Derbyshire was purposely flooded by the Ladybower Reservoir between 1935 and 1943.
Thousands of people braving the soft reservoir mud have flocked to the site of the old town hall ruins and the semi-intact pump house.
But some exposed parts of the lost Derwent village have already been thrown into the mud by vandals – and some visitors have even scrawled messages over the old buildings.
The town of Derwent in Derbyshire was purposely flooded by the Ladybower Reservoir between 1935 and 1943. Thousands of people braving the soft reservoir mud have flocked to the site
![The Ladybower Reservoir is normally high, but a 'lost' village has re-emerged due to low water levels caused by this year's dry summer [File photo]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/11/25/18/6621470-0-image-a-1_1543169607062.jpg)
The Ladybower Reservoir is normally high, but a ‘lost’ village has re-emerged due to low water levels caused by this year’s dry summer [File photo]
Members of the public and history experts alike are fascinated by the site. Derwent has only been seen twice after hot summers, once in 1976 after the summer heatwave, and again in 1995
Derwent Hall in Derbyshire is pictured in its former glory in 1939, which now stands around a thick mud in Ladybower Reservoir. The ruins of the old house can be seen in the dried up reservoir
Old tiles in the ruins of the Derwent Hall are seen above. The ruins of Derwent Hall, including the fireplace, are exposed by low water levels as people brave the soft mud to inspect the remains
Derwent Hall has also been scrawled over, with one vandal writing ‘Steve’ on the site before writing the date of November 17 2018, suggesting this may have been done as recently as last Sunday. Another young visitor looks on at the ruins
One visitor even witnessed the damage to the site and said she was mad and upset.
Clare Whittaker, from Sheffield, told the BBC she saw both children and parents taking stones off of the previously submerged ruin walls and throwing them into the reservoir mud.
She said: ‘We’re very lucky to get to see some good history but people were deliberately destroying that history’.
The old Derwent Hall has also been scrawled over, with one vandal writing ‘Steve’ on the site before writing the date of November 17 2018, suggesting this may have been done as recently as last Sunday.
Derwent has only been seen twice after hot summers, once in 1976 after the summer heatwave, and again in 1995.
Visitors could see the old town hall ruins and the semi-intact pump house, above, but parts of the lost Derwent village have already been vandalised
The Peak District National Park Authority said it was ‘shocked’ by the damage to the structures, with one visitor from Sheffield claiming she saw adults and children taking stones off the old ruins
The ‘ruins’ site includes a town hall, a pub, a pump house and a farm, with some of the buildings still submerged in thick mud. Derwent has been seen again thanks to this year’s hot and dry summer
An old fireplace is seen in the ruins of Derwent. which were exposed by low water levels. A spokesman for the park authority warned visitors to leave the features intact for the future
The ‘ruins’ site includes a town hall, a pub, a pump house and a farm, with some of the buildings still submerged in thick mud.
The Peak District National Park Authority said it was ‘shocked’ by the damage to the structures.
And even a member of the Edlae Mountain Rescue Team which operates in the area said he had seen ‘a huge amount’ of graffiti on the ruins.
He told the BBC: ‘It’s a huge part of our history and now ‘Cheryl’ and ‘Steve’ have scratched their names in the rock’.
A spokesman for the park authority warned visitors to leave the features intact for the future.