Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the reservoir is on the western edge of the Peak District National Park.

John Platt of Oldham built a Neo-Gothic mansion at Ashway Gap on the south side of the valley in 1850.

Boundary stones demarcating the extent of the estate are located at intervals along the footpaths along the south side of the reservoir.

Its construction was opposed by local mill owners, who claimed that damming the river would cut off their water supply.

In December 2015, a man who travelled from London to Manchester and walked to a location close to the reservoir, died on the Chew Track.

[6] The unknown individual was initially nicknamed "Neil Dovestones" by pathologists,[6] until he was identified as David Lytton in January 2017.

[8] The Ashton under Lyne, Stalybridge & Dukinfield Joint Committee obtained an Act of Parliament in 1958 enabling it to build the reservoir.

A concrete cutoff in a 23 metre deep trench makes a seal between the foundations and the earthworks preventing leaks.

Dove Stone is possibly the last large dam to be built in Britain with a conventional puddle clay core.

In 2010, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds established an interest in the area, and decided to manage the surrounding moorland and woodland, in association with United Utilities.