I lived in the Old Gate House to Derwent Hall, which was buried in the water. Our drive used to carry on down through the fields and into the water - quite sad really.
My Fathers family came up from Cornwall to build the Dams and they lived in the third Village called Birchinlea (not sure of the spelling)- which was a temporary village mostly made of corrugated iron - which was specifically for the workers and their families.
There are huge pieces of stone, which supported the railways that took the materials up the valley to build both the Derwent and Howden dams and they can still be seen today - especially when the water is low. You can still also see foundations of houses and gateways. When the water is really low, you can see exactly where the original river used to run and at Millbrook there is still a small bridge, which goes over the river and is submerged for most of the time.
My grandmother used to go to the local school - which was at St Henrys Hall - which still stands today and is still used as a village hall.
The Silent valley is an interesting book to read if you are interested in the lost villages.
There is also a lot of interesting history about the Dam Busters that practiced on the Dams - but that’s another story.
