David Stirling
David Stirling
10 March, 2025
News

New book uncovers the lost history of the Goyt Valley

Just a few miles west of Buxton, the Goyt Valley is now dominated by two large reservoirs - Fernilee, completed in 1936, and Errwood, which followed three decades later in 1967. Beneath the waters of Errwood Reservoir lie the remains of Goyt’s Bridge, a small hamlet that once clustered around an ancient crossing over the River Goyt. Overlooking the reservoir sit the atmospheric ruins of Errwood Hall, a once-magnificent country house.

David pictured beside the ruins of Errwood Hall with copies of his newly printed book.

Local history enthusiast David Stirling has just self-published a richly illustrated book exploring the fascinating stories of both Errwood Hall and Goyt’s Bridge. The book features an extensive collection of historic photographs and maps, many of which David has gathered since launching his Goyt Valley website in 2012.The website also offers more than 25 walks around the valley, making it a treasure trove for both history lovers and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

David explains: “I started the website as a retirement project after returning to my hometown of Buxton following a career in publishing. I was fortunate to meet local author Gerald Hancock, who generously allowed me to scan the photographs he had collected for his own book on the Goyt Valley. It sparked my interest in discovering exactly where these remarkable images were taken.”

The origins of Goyt’s Bridge stretch back many centuries. The hamlet appears on Britain’s earliest known atlas, published by Christopher Saxton in 1579, as ‘Goythouses,’ later evolving into ‘Goyt’s Bridge’ on subsequent maps.

Roman soldiers once marched through this landscape, traveling between Chester and Derby, perhaps pausing at their settlement of Aquae Arnemetiae - modern-day Buxton - to rest and enjoy its famed natural springs.

By the 18th and 19th centuries, traders and packhorse trains laden with salt, coal, food, and textiles crossed a small stone bridge over the River Goyt, forming a vital transport link in the region.Then, in 1835, Manchester industrialist Samuel Grimshawe purchased over 2,000 acres of the Upper Goyt Valley to establish a grand country estate centred around Errwood Hall. The moorland setting provided the perfect habitat for game birds, and the Grimshawe family hosted regular shooting parties for their family and affluent guests.

The arrival of the railways to Buxton in 1863 brought increasing numbers of tourists to the area. A popular excursion was to take a horse-drawn coach ride from Buxton to the Cat & Fiddle Inn, and then to follow the picturesque Goyt Valley to the idyllic hamlet of Goyt’s Bridge where teas were served from two farmhouses.

Visitors were captivated by its picturesque packhorse bridge and stepping stones, often sending postcard views to friends and family - Victorian-era equivalents of today’s social media snapshots.David’s book brings this lost world back to life, featuring a wealth of these evocative postcards, along with photographs from family albums and detailed maps from the 1890s. These elements combine to paint a vivid picture of a vanished landscape and a way of life now submerged beneath the waters of Errwood Reservoir.

Errwood Hall itself had a fleeting existence, built around 1845 and demolished by Stockport Corporation in the early 1930s. David’s book chronicles the period between the Grimshawe family’s arrival and the eventual sale of the estate to the water authority, preserving the stories of the people and places that once thrived here.

Printed in full colour on high-quality paper, this well-crafted book is available both in local bookshops as well as David's website at www.goyt-valley.org.uk

Don’t miss the chance to step back in time and uncover the lost history of the Goyt Valley.

Built in the mid 1840s, Errwood Hall was demolished less than a century later following Stockport Corporation’s purchase of the land to construct the twin reservoirs of Errwood and Fernilee.
Built in the mid 1840s, Errwood Hall was demolished less than a century later following Stockport Corporation’s purchase of the land to construct the twin reservoirs of Errwood and Fernilee. Credit: David Stirling
A popular postcard view of the hamlet of Goyt’s Bridge showing a young girl crossing the stepping stones over the River Goyt with the ancient packhorse bridge in the background. All of it now lying beneath the waters of Errwood Reservoir.
A popular postcard view of the hamlet of Goyt’s Bridge showing a young girl crossing the stepping stones over the River Goyt with the ancient packhorse bridge in the background. All of it now lying beneath the waters of Errwood Reservoir. Credit: David Stirling