What happened to Mardale Green?

Manchester Corporation enlarged the natural lake of Haweswater as a reservoir. Buildings around the small farming hamlet were cleared during the 1930s and the former settlement and fields were submerged as water levels rose.

When was Mardale church demolished?

Its final service was held in August 1935, but the church was carefully dismantled in April 1937. Cumbria County History Trust records that some of its stone was reused in the reservoir's water tower.

Can you walk through Mardale Green when Haweswater is low?

Do not assume so. Some walls, gates and a bridge may appear in very dry periods, but the reservoir bed can be soft, unstable or cut off. Obey signs, barriers and land-manager instructions, and never disturb exposed remains.

The Lost Villages

Mardale Green: The Hamlet Submerged Beneath Haweswater

Mardale Green was a small Lakeland farming hamlet, not a town of fifty families. Its documented story explains how Manchester Corporation enlarged Haweswater—and what can still be seen when water levels fall.

8 August 20265 min read