Above: A couple of examples from the collection – a wonderful photo showing four houses near Goyt’s Moss. And a small booklet describing life at the reservoir waterworks from the 1950s to the late ’90s. There’s nothing like a deadline for...
Above: The hamlet of Goyt’s Bridge which now lies under the waters of Errwood Reservoir. I’ve circled Errwood Hall in the distance. The large barn mentioned by Crichton may be the one at far right. I’m not sure when the photo was taken...
Above: Boothman’s Cottages would have been a bleak place to live in winter. But well-placed to pick up custom from the many travellers who passed this way. Above: An old photo showing the remains of the engine house (click to enlarge). There’s nothing now...
Above: This relic of a bygone age once produced lime to fertilise fields in the Goyt Valley. I only noticed the remains of a lime kiln the other day, near the southern end of Errwood Reservoir, along the track from the bottom of Old Goyts Lane, just a short distance...
Above: A small stile from the Old Macclesfield Road, just on the outskirts of Burbage, leads down to the site of what was once a busy colliery. The inset map dates back to the late 1890s and shows the colliery was already disused at this time. I find it fascinating to...
Above: It’s difficult to imagine today, but this area was once a busy drift-mining colliery. Coal was unloaded from small canal boats at the head of a drift tunnel in the hillside, just a short distance from this bridge, and loaded onto railway wagons, as...
Above: The best place to see evidence of coal mining around Goyt’s Moss is from a lay-by beside the A54, heading west from Buxton, just before the junction to Congleton. There’s a sign beside a stile warning walkers to take care, but the...
Above: I’ve often wondered about these dark deposits on the exposed hillside beside the road from the Cat & Fiddle to Derbyshire Bridge. It certainly looks like coal, but if it is, why hasn’t anyone carted it away to warm their homes in this exposed...
Above: Castedge Mine Manager, Jack Hewitt, pictured in 1922 sitting on one of the coal tubs with his daughter Phyllis. Jack’s wife, Mary stands beside him, with the small mine entrance behind. Information on Castedge Coal Mine is taken from Kevin...
