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Bamford

Bamford is a hillside village beneath the Bamford Edge and on the road to the Ladybower and Upper Derwent dam. When the Derwent and Howden dams were built in the early years of the 20th century, the valley of the Upper Derwent was flooded, submerging many farms under the rising waters. The 1,000 or so navvies and their families were housed at Birchinlee, a temporary village which came to be known locally as ‘Tin Town’, for its plethora of corrugated iron shacks. During the Second World War the third and largest reservoir, the Ladybower, was built. This involved the inundating of two villages — Derwent and Ashopton. Many buildings were lost including ancient farms and Derwent Hall, dating from 1672 and which had been made into a youth hostel in 1931. The spire of the parish church was still visible at first, but was demolished in 1947.

St John the Baptist Parish Church in Bamford was built between 1856 and 1860, and is unlike any other in Derbyshire. It was designed by the famous church architect William Butterfield, with a slender tower and an extra-sharp spire. It was here, within the churchyard, that the dead from Derwent’s church were re-interred. The survivors were re-housed in Yorkshire Bridge, a purpose-built hamlet located below the embankment of the Ladybower Dam. The Visitor Centre at Fairholmes (in the Upper Derwent Valley) tells the story of these ‘drowned villages’. Here you can also learn all about The Derwent Dam, which was built in 1935 and was the practice site for the Dambusters, who tested their bouncing bombs here.

Also worthy of note, particularly to lovers of industrial architecture, is Bamford Mill, just across the road by the river. This cotton mill, built in 1780 and rebuilt in 1791-1792 after a fire, retains its huge waterwheel and also has a 1907 tandem-compound steam engine. It ceased to operate as a cotton mill in 1965 and was used by an electric furnace manufacturer until a few years ago. It has now been converted for luxury housing.

Along the A57 towards Sheffield, the road dips and crosses the gory-sounding Cutthroat Bridge. The present bridge dates back to 1830, but takes its gruesome name from a 16th-century murder, when the body of a man with his throat cut was discovered under the then bridge.

Bamford Sheepdog Trials, held on Spring Bank Holiday Monday, are among the best-attended and most famous in the Peak.