Morley

Morley is essentially a rural village with working farms around it. There are four parts to the village: Brackley Gate and the Croft, the Smithy and Brick Kiln Lane, Almshouse Lane and Church Lane.

Brackley Gates has some disused quarries and marvellous views to the north. It is now a wildlife reserve owned by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. The Croft has a cluster of 17th- and 18th-century cottages. The 17th-century Almshouses in Almshouse Lane were originally provided by Jacinth Sitwell, then Lord of the Manor of Morley for ‘six poor, lame or impotent men’.

 The Parish Church of St Matthew has a Norman nave, with the tower, chancel and north chapel being late 14th/early 15th century.  It is perhaps best known for its magnificent stained glass windows dating from medieval times. Originally in the Abbey Refectory at Dale, the windows were acquired by Sir Henry Sacheverell in 1539. There are monuments and brasses to important local families like the Sacheverells and the Sitwells, including one to John Sacheverell, who died at Bosworth Field in 1485, and the beautifully-carved tomb chest of Henry Sacheverell, who died in 1558 and his wife Katherine Babington, who died in 1553.