A village of rugged charm, Curbar climbs the hillside between the winding River Derwent and the moors above, from a church of 1868 at the foot to a quaint house near the top with a round stepped-roof set cleverly on square walls. An odd little building, it was once a shelter for prisoners on the way to distant gaols.
Has any village in Derbyshire a finer outlook? It is lovely where the old moorland road comes down past the church, where valleys meet and a three-arch bridge crosses the stream which swings round the foot of Calver Sough, but from the windswept Curbar and Baslow Edges above, 1000 feet above sea-level, the panorama of hills and dales is superb.
We look down beyond the village and the river, with Calver village in the hollow, to a glory of swelling hills rich in pasture and woodland. We get a peep of Chatsworth House and Edensor's graceful spire. We look from Stoney Middleton's rocky ravine to Eyam Moor, and up the valley towards Grindleford Bridge.
In the churchyard is a stone marking the grave of one whom all fishermen loved. He was George Butcher, known as the Izaak Walton of the Peak, and he died in 1875. To him the river and the countryside were as an open book, and he was a carpenter and a preacher, as well as a fisherman.
By the river, near the bridge, is Calver Mill, a huge, gaunt stone-walled spinning mill, built in 1786 and operated by water-power. It was still in service as a cotton mill until some 50 years ago, but is now used for making stainless-steel sinks.
