Description: The town of Chapel-en-le-Frith was founded in 1225 by foresters in the Royal Forest of the Peak, who were given permission by the Earl of Derby to build a chapel in the forest (a chapel-en-le-frith). Their building was largely refashioned in 1733, but the present parish church still occupies the site of the original chapel and the churchyard contains a grave said to be that of a woodcutter from the days of the Royal Forest - its simple headstone bears the letters P.L. and a crude depiction of an axe. An unusually high concentration in the parish of grand halls (country houses), including Ford Hall, Slack Hall, Bradshaw Hall, Whitehough Old Hall and Bank Hall, also results from the period of the Royal Forest, when houses and estates were granted in return for services to the Crown. In 1648, 1,500 Scottish soldiers, taken prisoner by Cromwell at the Battle of Ribbleton Moor, were locked in the parish church for two weeks, before being marched to Chester. When the doors were opened, 44 men were found to be dead. This gruesome episode earned the church the title 'Derbyshire's Black Hole.' On the sloping land between the parish church and the main street, there is a well-preserved Old Town, with cobbled streets and alleyways, including picturesque Church Brow and a market square crammed with interesting monuments. The stocks possibly date from the Cromwellian period; the market cross may have originated as a preaching cross; the horse trough was erected to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and the war memorial is unusual in listing all the local men who served in the First World War, rather than simply those who died in battle. The war memorial at Dove Holes also commemorates the fallen in both World Wars. At the present time, the Market Place is served by no fewer than four inns, but there is evidence of many more; look out for a tell-tale inscription on the wall of the post office, the name of a former inn incorporated into the name of a cottage, and a fine relief of a bull's head on a house near the church gates. This high concentration of inns is evidence of Chapel-en-le-Frith's historical importance as a stopping place on routes across the Pennines. Salt carriers from Cheshire, cattle drovers and stagecoach passengers all broke their journey for refreshment in the town. Combs reservoir, to the west of the town, was also constructed in 1797, in order to service the Peak Forest Canal. Twin railway viaducts at Chapel Milton are great monuments to the Railway Age and the Chapel-Whaley Bridge by-pass, opened in 1987, is one of the engineering achievements of the Age of the Automobile. The Ferodo brake lining company (now Federal Mogul) was founded in 1897 by Herbert Frood, who developed a revolutionary new braking material in his garden shed at Combs, within the parish of Chapel. The parish also has a significant place in the history of non-conformism. William Bagshawe conducted secret services at Ford Hall after being expelled from his ministry at Glossop in 1662 for refusing to conform to the Book of Common Prayer. John Wesley preached in the Chapel parish on four occasions and he was engaged for a time to Grace Murray, who spent much of her life in Chapel-en-le-Frith and is buried at Chinley Independent Chapel. Charles Wesley felt Grace was not a suitable match for his brother, so she transferred her affections to John Bennett, one of Wesley s leading preachers. Two hamlets in the parish, Bagshaw and Sparrowpit, are among the oldest Wesleyan communities in the world. All in all, Chapel-en-le-Frith has a long and fascinating history, much of which can be traced by exploring the many monuments and old buildings to be found in the parish. (information from www.chapel-en-le-frithparishcouncil.gov.uk)