Stoney Middleton

This village, known simply as “Stoney” locally, is certainly well named as, particularly in this part of Middleton Dale, great walls of limestone rise up from the valley floor. Further up the Dale there are also many disused limestone quarries as well as the remains of some lead mines. Not all industry has vanished from the area, as this is the home of nearly three-quarters of the country’s fluorspar industry. Another relic from the past also survives - a shoe- and boot-making company operates from the village and is housed in a former corn mill.

An ancient village, the Romans built a bath here, and it is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Midletune. It is thought that the place originated when a motte and bailey castle was built on Castle Hill, but was abandoned in the 14th century due to the Black Death. Nearby is the odd octagonally-shaped St Martin’s Parish Church. Joan Eyre built it in thanksgiving for the safe return of her husband from the field of the Battle of Agincourt in the 15th century. It is said that she actually built the church at a place where she and her husband-to-be met and courted in secret, as her family did not approve of him.

Middleton Hall dates originally from about 1600, but was much altered by the Denman family in the 19th century. The most famous Denman was a lawyer who became Lord Chief Justice of England in 1832.

During the Great Plague of 1665-1666, the 17th-century villagers of Stoney Middleton left food and clothing out for those quarantined in nearby Eyam.

In January 2007 some of the houses in the village were ruined when a wall of mud pounded the village after a dam near the top of the dale burst following heavy rainfall. Despite this, Stoney Middleton has preserved its village identity and character and also partakes in the custom of well-dressing, when two wells around The Nook are dressed in late July/early August.