Tin Town in Lancashire.

[Bikertec]

I was talking to a old man who told me about a village called Tin town. He described it as a thriving community but now abandoned. I searched the maps but cannot find it. Is it like Warem Percy in North Yorks.

[relight9]

Hi Bikertec

 

I stole the following extract from a local history website:

 

Remains of Birchinlee

 

The road along the western side of Howden Reservoir is particularly popular, shaded by mixed-wood plantations which are particularly evocative in autumn when the spruce and beech turn many hues of yellow and orange. Birdcalls and grazing sheep add to this tranquil, rural scene.

 

Few people realise, however, that amongst the trees survive the shadows of a remarkable early 20th century village which was home to over 2,500 people and that the road they are on was once a bustling high street.

 

Hope this helps

[Bikertec]

So its Derbyshire, Birchenlee. Ok maybe thats why I couldn't find it, Thanks I will try searching on the above information.

 

 

 

Great found what I needed at http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba59/feat3.shtml

[algy]

Hi Bikertec,

No, it's not like Wharram Percy. It was a temporary village built to house the workers building the dams, and their families. It was a full blown village with its own church, shop and even a village policeman. The buildings were all made of metal sheeting, hence the nickname, and when the work was finished it was removed. I understand that the Peak Park are going to put up some signing, hopefully next year, so people can explore the site. In the meantime there is a book called 'Memories of Tin Town, Birchinlee, the navvy village' by B. Robinson and R. Smith. I think you can still buy it, but there are plenty of copies in the city Libraries.

[Trekker]

thats where the dam worker lived

[Cycleracer]

Originally posted by Bikertec

I was talking to a old man who told me about a village called Tin town. He described it as a thriving community but now abandoned. I searched the maps but cannot find it. Is it like Warem Percy in North Yorks.

Intersting as I did not know about the old Derent village.

Warren Percy I believe survived the plague,, and was over run by sheep which lead to the demise of this Yorkshire village.

The church is still there along with the odd hearth and the foundations of the old houses that stood there have recently been marked by a path around there parimiters.

[Ousetunes]

I find the whole history of the sunken villages of Derwent and Ashopton absolutely mind-boggling. I have been interested in the history of these villages since the early 1970s when as a child we would drive past the dams on the Snake Pass into Lancashire and became familiar with the story of there being two villages beneath the cold, dark waters of Ladybower Reservoirs.

 

Of cause, at that age I imagined that the villages were simply abandoned and that as the waters rose they would remain under the water, intact, whole houses, shops, churches and schools. It didn't cross my mind that they would be demolished first! (I am aware of the history of the church tower at Derwent which remained in situ as the waters encroached upon it. That was finally blown up to deter sight seers from getting to it when the waters were low.)

 

Then, during the draught of 1976, when the remains of old buildings were exposed my imagination ran riot. They were visible again in 1989 (arguably more so than 13 years prior) and as we have had drier summers since the remains have been visible more often since.

 

When there is a draught, you can walk down to where the original river is, stand beside where the pack-horse bridge used to cross over and see the remains (piles of stones mainly) of what were Derwent Hall and Derwent Church. Truly fascinating.

 

Tin Town, as many have since commented, was the temporary village for the workers building Derwent and Howden Dams and their magnificent walls. IIRC some archive footage of the building of these walls was shown on BBC2's Time Travellers programme along with idylic country scenes of the villages of Ashopton - with its post office, now buried under the seven arched Ashopton Viaduct - and Derwent.

 

You can still trace in places the old railway line which brought stone from the quarrys around Grindleford that were hewn into the square stones used on the dam walls.

 

The whole area is one living history museum and I applaud any attempts to signpost the village of Birchinlee and make its history known to visitors.

 

It is also one of the most beautiful places in the world, a place where I feel I can be 'at one with myself'. Stand beneath Derwent Wall when it's not overflowing, listen to the peace and think how much water there is being held by those stones!!!!!

 

(I feel nervous just thinking about it, but you actually feel incredibly calm and at peace out there!)

 

Ashopton Village and Viaduct

[Bikertec]

Originally posted by algy

Hi Bikertec,

No, it's not like Wharram Percy. It was a temporary village built to house the workers building the dams, and their families. It was a full blown village with its own church, shop and even a village policeman. The buildings were all made of metal sheeting, hence the nickname, and when the work was finished it was removed. I understand that the Peak Park are going to put up some signing, hopefully next year, so people can explore the site. In the meantime there is a book called 'Memories of Tin Town, Birchinlee, the navvy village' by B. Robinson and R. Smith. I think you can still buy it, but there are plenty of copies in the city Libraries.

Does any of the village at tintown still exist or has it all disapeared back into the woods.

 

Cheers Mick:)

[algy]

I was at a talk given by a Peak Park archaeologist a few weeks ago and he mentioned the signing idea. He also had one or two photos of things like the main street now and in a comparison pictureof the time, but i don't think there's much else apart from levelled building platforms. I think the signs will be concerned with the village and the railway line that used to run up the valley when they were building the dams.

[sanman]

Oustunes the on the picture you have posted the large house in the middle is Ashopton Inn. My mum lived there when she was a little girl and moved out (obviously) when the Dam was built. She has lots of old photos of Ashopton and went to School at Derwent Village.