Stone Edge

Stone Edge (pronounced 'Stanege' locally) is a pretty area of countryside with a stunning view across the valley to Chesterfield. It's possible to see the 'Crooked Spire' of Chesterfield's Parish Church in the distance and get a sense of how impressive it must have been in the 14th Century, when it was first built.

Stone Edge bears a reminder of the industrial past of the area - the Stone Edge Cupola. Lead mining was important to the Peak District but usually the smelting of the lead ore wasn't done near the mine. Much smelting of lead has taken place in the Derwent Valley, on the East Moors which were closer to the canals that could take the lead to the river ports on the Trent.

The Cupola is evidence that lead smelting took place at Stone Edge. More substantial than the bole hearths of the 16th and 17th Centuries, the cupolas were built in the 18th and 19th Centuries on an industrial basis. Most of them used coal as fuel and had associated stone buildings. The Stone Edge Cupola was built in 1770, making it Britain's oldest free standing chimney, but the remains of its additional buildings lie hidden under the grass and brush.