Editing Upper Goyt Valley (section)

== History ==
[[The Street (Derbyshire)|The Street]] [[Roman roads|Roman road]] runs alongside Errwood Reservoir and to the west of Fernilee Reservoir.

The disused [[Cromford and High Peak Railway]] line (which connected the [[High Peak, Derbyshire|High Peak]] canal at [[Whaley Bridge]] with the [[River Derwent, Derbyshire|River Derwent]] in [[Cromford]] since 1831) runs along the east side of the reservoirs. This stretch of the railway line was closed in 1896.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wondersofthepeak.org.uk/facts/the-goyt-valley-fernilee-reservoir/|title=Fernilee Reservoir|website=Wonders Of The Peak|access-date=22 March 2020}}</ref> 

The Fernilee gunpowder mill operated in the valley from about 1800 at the site of Fernilee Reservoir. It was acquired in 1888 by Chilworth Gunpowder Company and expanded before closing in 1920, after numerous fatal accidents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.negh.co.uk/whaleybridgehistory/powder1.html|title=Whaley Bridge History, Furnilee Powder Mills, Page 1|website=Whaley Bridge Local History|access-date=24 March 2020}}</ref>
[[File:Spanish Shrine, Errwood Estate - geograph.org.uk - 701803.jpg|thumb|Spanish Shrine on Errwood Estate]]
[[Errwood Hall]] was the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] mansion of the Grimshawe family, built in about 1840 but it is now in ruins. Below Foxlow Edge there is a Spanish shrine, built in 1889 in memory of Miss Dolores (a friend of the Grimshawe family). The shrine is a designated Grade II listed building.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1221410|desc=WAYSIDE SHRINE AT SK 0070 7525|access-date=26 September 2020}}</ref>

A local legend tells that Pym Chair is the spot where a highway man called Pym robbed passers by on the packhorse route. However another story is that Pym was a preacher who gave sermons there.<ref name=":1" />

=== Reservoirs ===
The valley floor is now dominated by two drinking-water reservoirs, fed by the [[River Goyt]]. Both reservoirs were built by the Stockport Corporation Waterworks (after they acquired the Grimshawe estate) to provide drinking water for [[Stockport]] town and the surrounding area. [[Fernilee Reservoir]] was completed in 1938 and the hamlet of Goyt's Bridge and Errwood Hall were destroyed to prevent any pollution of the water. [[Errwood Reservoir]] was completed in 1967. A spectacular suspension bridge once crossed the river but it was demolished to make way for Errwood Reservoir. An old packhorse bridge was saved and reconstructed near Goytsclough Quarry. The reservoirs and much of the surrounding land is currently owned by [[United Utilities]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.derbyshireheritage.co.uk/Menu/Misc/Reservoirs/fernilee-reservoir.php|title=Fernilee Reservoir in the Goyt valley|website=Derbyshire Heritage|access-date=22 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goyt-valley.org.uk/history-of-fernilee-errwood-reservoirs/|title=History of the twin reservoirs {{!}} The Goyt Valley|website=The Goyt Valley|access-date=22 March 2020}}</ref>