Goyt Valley memories
On these pages I’ll feature people with personal memories of life in the Goyt Valley before the construction of the two reservoirs. Simply click on the ‘Read more’ links to view any story. All contributions would be very gratefully received. To get in touch, simply use the site contact page.
Joseph Oyarzabel?
Two new photos said to be of Joseph Oyarzabel – son of Samuel Grimshawe’s butler – pose more questions than answers. Any help to discover the facts would be appreciated.
‘Goyt Valley Story’ pdf
Clifford Rathbone’s ‘Goyt Valley Story’ was first published in 1955 as a collection of articles written for the Macclesfield Express. The complete book is now available to read in full as a pdf.
Found starved to death
The sad story of how Robert Edge, a worker at Goytsclough Paint Mill, came to lose his life on his way home from Buxton in 1860. The coroner recorded a verdict of ‘Died from the inclemency of the weather’.
Farming in the valley
Bill Brocklehurst has lived and farmed in and around the Goyt Valley for most of his life. A recently published book includes a brief profile of a man who knows the land like the back of his hand.
Young lady drivers
A photo of two young ladies dressed in mourning posing on an early motor car outside Errwood Hall has always intrigued me. A ‘Then & Now’ fade shows the scene today.
Whispers of the gods
A 1937 newspaper article published just before the opening of Fernilee Reservoir tells of a glorious landscape that has been lost forever – wrecked in the interests of the community.
‘Bunty’ – a special teacher
Chris remembers ‘Bunty’ Sidebottom, a very special teacher at Fernilee Infant School: “She was extremely glamorous and had friends in high places in TV land: the BBC and Granada, Manchester.”
Grimshawe vault sealed
Mr Oyarzibel took the opportunity of denying the stories that the bodies of the Grimshaws in the vault are embalmed in glass-topped coffins, and that the corpses still wear gold watch chains…
Buried treasure!
A wonderful tale of a loveable Whaley Bridge rogue who won a bet with the Disley police. And also hunted for the Grimshawe’s treasure which was said to be buried close to Errwood Hall.
Goyt ice skating
An early ’60s black and white photo of skaters on the frozen pond at the head of the Bunsall Incline brings back memories of an earlier scene, described in Strephon’s typically flowery style in an 1880 article.
Goyt Valley Story #1
The first chapter of Clifford Rathbone’s ‘Goyt Valley Story’ describes a walk he made in the summer of 1955 from the Cat & Fiddle to Goyt’s Bridge, before the flooding of Errwood Reservoir.
Hearts of oak
“One by one the farmers and their families have strapped their ancient bedsteads on to hay wagons, and tracked off up the lane leading out from Derbyshire’s deceased village of Fernilee…”
Visiting the Cat & Fiddle (1888)
“A carriage from Buxton passes us just before we reach the Cat and Fiddle. Its inmates, although covered with shawls and rugs, are shivering with cold. (The date is the 4th of May, 1888.)”
Goyt’s Moss Marchingtons
Rob has been in touch to say his family once lived at Goyt’s Moss, scraping a living mining coal from the small pits which once littered the landscape of this windswept part of the upper Goyt Valley.
Goyt’s Bridge video
It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally managed to complete a short, 12 minute video showing how the twin reservoirs completely changed the landscape of this part of the Goyt Valley.
Shank’s mare to Goyt’s Bridge
An account of a walk in the late 1890s from Buxton, via Burbage, Derbyshire Bridge and Goytsclough, to Goyt’s Bridge and Errwood Hall. It includes some wonderful detail.
The High Peak Railway (1880)
The Cromford & High Peak Railway ran through the Goyt Valley from 1831 to 1892. Mike has discovered a fascinating report from the Victorian writer, Strephon, of a trip along the entire route.
The Valley of the Goyt (1880)
Another of Strephon’s wonderful articles describing his walks through the Goyt Valley. This one tells of a circular walk from Buxton, via Goyt’s Bridge and Derbyshire Bridge, taken in early 1880.
Down the Valley in 1881
Our 19th century travellers are “soon in the deep cool solitude of the Goyt valley, beautiful with colours that the miserably inadequate art of word-painting is utterly lost to reproduce.”
An 1880 excursion to Errwood
A writer in 1880 describes the Goyt Valley: “Boughs interlace above; the bare-bell, the fox-glove, and the blade-like fern are at out feet; at our side the beautiful campanula…”