Derwent Dam

Derwent Reservoir, showing the island and the west tower of Howden Dam

Derwent Reservoir is one of three reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley in the north east of Derbyshire, England. The River Derwent flows first through Howden Reservoir, then Derwent Reservoir and finally through Ladybower Reservoir. Between them they provide practically all of Derbyshire's water, as well as to a large part of South Yorkshire and as far afield as Nottingham and Leicester. Image File history File links DerwentDam. ... Image File history File links DerwentDam. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1200x867, 202 KB) Derwent Reservoir, showing the island and the western tower of Howden Dam. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1200x867, 202 KB) Derwent Reservoir, showing the island and the western tower of Howden Dam. ... The Ashokan Reservoir, located in Ulster County, New York, USA. It is one of 19 that supplies New York City with drinking water. ... The Upper Derwent Valley is an area of the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England. ... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. ... The Howden Reservoir is one of three reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire, England. ... The Ladybower Reservoir is one of three reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire, England. ... For other uses, see Nottingham (disambiguation). ... Leicester (pronounced ) is the largest city in the East Midlands of England. ...

Derwent Reservoir is around 1.5 miles in length, running broadly north-south, with Howden Dam at the northern end and Derwent Dam at the south. A small island lies near the Howden Dam. The Abbey Brook flows into the reservoir from the east.

At its peak the reservoir covers an area of 70.8 hectares (175 acres) and at its deepest point is 34.7 metres deep. A hectare (symbol ha) is a unit of area, equal to 10 000 square metres, commonly used for measuring land area. ...

History

The Industrial Revolution and urbanisation of the 19th century created huge demand for water in the industrial cities of the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. The proximity of Sheffield and its neighbours to the Upper Derwent valley were thus factors in the decision to dam the valley to create the Howden and Derwent dams. A Watt steam engine. ... Urbanization is the degree of or increase in urban character or nature. ... The East Midlands is one of the regions of England and consists of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. ... South Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber Government Office Region of England, in the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ...

The neo-Gothic dam was begun in 1902, a year after Howden was started, and proved a mammoth task. The huge stones that formed the walls of the dam were carried along a specially created railway from the quarries at Grindleford. Over 1000 workers Workers lived in a sepcially constructed self-contained town called Birchinlee or "Tin Town". One of the metal huts was preserved and moved the village of Hope, it is now a hairdressing salon. Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster, London: Gothic details provided by A.W.N. Pugin The Gothic Revival was an architectural movement which originated in mid-18th century England. ... Grindleford is a small town in the county of Derbyshire, United Kingdom. ... Hope is a village in the Derbyshire Peak District, in England. ...

The reservoir was first begun to be filled in November 1914, and overflowed for the first time in January 1916, with the water almost immediately passing into supply. The dam can support a total of 9.64 million cubic metres of water. The cubic meter (symbol m³) is the SI derived unit of volume. ...

Only two years after the dam's completion in 1916, it was decided that the flow from the reservoir was insufficient to support the surrounding population. As a result, between 1920 and 1931 the rivers River Alport and River Ashop were also diverted from the Ashop valley into the reservoir using tunnels and a Venturi flume. Alport Bridge, which conveys the A57 road over the River Alport just above its confluence with the Ashop. ... The River Ashop is a river in the Derbyshire Peak District, England. ... A Venturi meter is shown in a diagram, the pressure in 1 conditions is higher than 2, and the relationship between the fluid speed in 2 and 1 respectively, is the same as for pressure. ...

The diversion helped hold back water during the construction of the Ladybower Reservoir to the south, which was constructed between 1935 and 1945. The Ladybower Reservoir is one of three reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire, England. ...

Bamford and Howden Railway

Between 1901 and 1903 a standard gauge railway of over 7 miles was build from the town of Bamford to the south of the reservoir to Howden, to carry the thousands of tons of stone required for the construction of the two dams. Near to the southern end lay the newly opened quarry at Bole Hill near Grindleford. As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... 1. ...

Remains of the railway can still be seen alongside Derwent Reservoir as well as at the western end of the Ladybower dam where over 1.5 miles of cutting and trackway remain, and are known locally as 'The Route'. Between the Howden and Derwent dams the present road was built over the top of the railway.

After supplying well over a million tons of stone the Bole Hill quarry was closed in September 1914, with the end of the railway following soon after. The section between the mainline railway at Hope and Yorkshire Bridge was relaid in 1935 to aid the construction of the Ladybower dam, but closed again in 1946. Hope is a village in the Derbyshire Peak District, in England. ...

Countryside

The majority of the land around the reservoir is owned by Severn Trent Water, and of that around half is woodland. The woods consist predominantly of larch, pine, and spruce conifers, with the remaining third mainly sycamore, beech and oak. Severn Trent Water is one of the ten privatised water companies in England. ... Species About 12; see text Siberian larch Male (above) and female (below right) cones of Japanese Larch emerging in spring Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. ... Subgenera Subgenus Strobus Subgenus Ducampopinus Subgenus Pinus See Pinus classification for complete taxonomy to species level. ... Species About 35; see text. ... Sycamore is a name applied at various times and places to three very different types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. ... Species Fagus crenata - Japanese Beech Fagus engleriana - Chinese Beech Fagus grandifolia - American Beech Fagus hayatae - Taiwan Beech Fagus japonica - Japanese Blue Beech Fagus longipetiolata - South Chinese Beech Fagus lucida - Shining Beech Fagus mexicana - Mexican Beech or Haya Fagus orientalis - Oriental Beech Fagus sylvatica - European Beech Beech (Fagus) is a genus... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ...

The hills of the Peak District are given over to the pasture of sheep, leased to local farmers. The moorlands and gritstone edges are criss-crossed by footpaths open year-round other than during selected shooting periods. The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire. ... Species See text. ...

Trivia

During the Second World War the reservoir was used by pilots of the 617 Squadron for practising the low-level flights needed for Operation Chastise (commonly known as the "Dam Busters" raids), due to its similarity to the German dams. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... No. ... Operation Chastise was the official name for the attacks on German dams on May 17, 1943 in World War II using a specially developed bouncing bomb. The attack was carried out by Royal Air Force No. ...