This grey limestone village on a green hill has 17th century houses and an old church set high above the wayside. Its tower comes from Norman days, except for the embattled parapet, the tops of the old buttresses, and a 13th century window over a much later doorway.
From Norman times also is the plain bowl of the font and a fine nave arcade of round arches on massive pillars with bold capitals.
High up in the wall of the tower, only seen with much difficulty, is a stone 12 inches by 10 inches, carved with the quaint figure of a man with one hand on his heart. Its story is still unknown, but it is thought that it is probably the work of a Saxon sculptor found by the Normans and built into their tower. He is the oldest inhabitant of the village, and the one most rarely seen.
On a steep hill about 800 feet above sea-level, Brassington is famous for the scenery and the ancient remains around. One can trace a Roman road and find the graves of prehistoric men; nearby are the jagged Rainster Rocks and Hipley Hill with its caves. How Grange Quarry, where remains of some of the first animals in England have been found, Harborough Rocks, with the strange fantastic shapes of weathered limestone outcrops, and a cave occupied during the Early Iron Age are here. A wide view opens from this hill, over 1200 feet above sea-level.
Little more than two miles away to the north-west rises the distinctive hill of Minning Low, crossed by the Roman road that ran from Buxton to Derby. On its summit, a ring of beeches surrounds the rock-chambered graves of the New Stone Age.
