"But the finest thing about Darley Dale is the marvellous old yew tree in the churchyard of Church Town, a few minutes' walk from Darley Station. A church of St. Helen has stood here for many centuries, as the stone coffins and sculptured lids now set up in the porch bear witness." [Firth, p.382]

"The yew stands opposite the south porch, surrounded - most wisely, considering the vandals with pocket knives who infect the roads - with spiked iron railings. It is not as tall in the bole as most ancient yews, for it divides almost immediately into two main trunks, and then sub-divides again into scores of branches of varying thickness. Many of these were lopped off around 1820" [Firth, p.386]

Quotations from:
Firth, J.B. (1908) "Highways and Byways in Derbyshire" MacMillan & Co., London

More on site information about Darley and the surrounding area
Magic Lantern Slide of St. Helens
Kelly's 1891 Directory, Darley
Derbyshire's Parishes, 1811
Pigot's 1828-9 Directory, with Matlock, Matlock Bath and Bonsall includes Darley names
Wolley Manuscripts, Matlock

Also see
Wolley Manuscripts, Derbyshire for more information about Derbyshire deeds, pedigrees, documents and wills

Joseph Whitworth - "Lives Which Hung by a Thread", a magazine article about the Whitworth Sharpshooter which now includes (Dec 2008) additional material about both Whitworth and the development of the rifle.

Elsewhere on the Web
GENUKI - Darley Dale