Rare photos and 3D reconstruction of lost village 'drowned' beneath Ladybower Reservoir to go on show

Ashopton in Derbyshire was sacrificed in that year to make way for the huge reservoir to serve the growing population of Sheffield and other local towns and cities.

But now people will be able to walk through the village once more with a visual walkthrough of how it used to be alongside more than 100 vintage photographs.

Spokesman James Thomson said students approached Bamford and District History Group last year after hearing how a collection of rare, archive photos of Ashopton was set to come up for auction.

He said: "We approached them about working on a student project devoted to the photos and the result is a two day exhibition."

The exhibition contains more than 100 enlarged photos, projected slideshows, memories recorded from people who lived in Ashopton and a 3D recreated walkthrough of the village with ‘day/night’ and ‘flood’ modes showing the water level before and after created by students using Virtual Reality.

He added: "We at Chesterfield College are very proud to be part of this project."

The horde of postcards, which were discovered last autumn, show the village in the late 19th and early 20th century when it had a population of about 100 people.

Ashopton also boasted a 17th century hall, a toll cottage, a Georgian coaching inn and dozens of cottages.

The collection also contained photos of neighbouring Derwent, which was drowned by the Ladybower Reservoir.

Most of the buildings were demolished before the waters poured in, but Derwent's church spire was left to form a memorial.

However Ashopton will never re-emerge as silt has already covered the remains of its buildings.

A crowd of 25,000 watched the official inauguration of the reservoir on September 25, 1945 by King George VI, who unveiled a plaque.

The king unlocked the gates leading to the embankment and operated the release valves, causing water to flow from the reservoir.

The spire of Derwent parish church was the last significant building in the villages to disappear from view. It was dismantled in 1947 because of safety concerns. The myth that the church bells could be heard ringing as the waters rose is just that: the bells had been removed years beforehand.

The exhibtion will take place on April 21 and 22 from 10am to 4pm at Bamford Village Institute, Main Road, Bamford, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S33 0DY.