The people of the Peak District town of Whaley Bridge in
Derbyshire are still unable to return to their homes as fears continue that the
dam holding back the Toddbrook Reservoir (pictured) above the town may burst, unleashing a
devastating flood.
The reservoir was built in 1831. About 20 miles away, the
collapse of another dam in 1864 brought Britain’s worst ever dam disaster. As
Sheffield became a major centre for steel-making, the Sheffield Waterworks
Company decided to build new reservoirs in the surrounding hills to
provide the water the booming area demanded.
By 11 March 1864, the first of them, above the village of
Bradfield, was almost finished when a local man noticed a crack in the
structure. It was a wet, stormy night and water was also coming over the top of
the dam. Within hours, the structure had burst, and a mountain of water careered down the
valley below.
Bradfield was the first place to be hit, though mercifully
most of the inhabitants had been evacuated, but no warning reached Malin Bridge,
where more than 100 people were killed, and altogether in the valley, 270 died.
For the full story, see my book A
Disastrous History of Britain.
