Yorkshire Dales medieval village flooded for reservoir reemerges amid drought

Low water levels at the Scar House Reservoir in the Yorkshire Dales shows the extent of the drought which hit the region and wider country over summer.

They also reveal a medieval town flooded when the reservoir was created in the 1920s.

Sitting below Little Whernside, deep in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a small village functioned for centuries.

According to records, the village was operated by the Cistercian abbey nearby before being sold into private ownership after King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.

At its peak before the flooding, the community was home to 1,250 villagers.

Scar House was the last of three reservoirs to be established in the Nidd Valley to supply water to the Bradford area.

Water from is transferred to Chellow Heights via the Nidd Aqueduct using only gravity and no pumping.

The latest reports of the village being so fully revealed date back to the summer drought of 1995, but small sections of the settlement are always on display.

Water levels are now so low that a hosepipe ban is in place.

Neil Dewis, director of water at Yorkshire Water, told ITV News: "It’s been an exceptionally dry year and we’ve seen reservoir stocks decline to less than 50%.

"We're asking our customers to help."