Fenny Bentley

Fenny Bentley is the first village of the Peak for visitors coming from the south, with a steep hill up into the Peak District and the old railway bridge where the Tissington Trail passes through the village (see also Tissington).

The Parish Church of St Edmund’s has a dominant position in the village and dates back to the 13th century, although it has been heavily restored in later years. You can find some wonderful examples of the Arts and Crafts movement art works in many of the surrounding churches. At Fenny Bentley you can see angels lined up behind the altar and a stunningly painted aluminium ceiling in the northeast aisle. Also, inside the church can be found the tomb of Thomas Beresford, the local lord of the manor who fought, alongside eight of his 16 sons, at Agincourt. The effigies of Beresford and his wife are surrounded by those of their 21 children - each covered by a shroud as, by the time the tombs were built, nobody could remember what they had looked like! It is said that everyone with the surname of Beresford is descended from Thomas and his wife, and the annual meeting of the Beresford Family Society takes place in the village each year.

The 15th-century square tower of the Beresford’s fortified manor house is now incorporated into Cherry Orchard Farm. It was also the home of poet Charles Cotton at one time, and is a local landmark that can be seen from the Buxton road.