Popular with Walkers, Earl Sterndale is surrounded by a number of distincitive natural landmarks, including the Peaks of Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill and is within walking distance of Dovedale. Historically, the area surrounding the village was mostly made up of farmland owned by Basingwerk Abbey in Wales. Today, farming still makes up for much of the village’s economy, as well as the nearby quarries at Sterndale Moore.
A unique part of Earl Sterndale’s history is that the village was actually hit by a German bomb during an air raid in 1941. The village church was destroyed by the explosion which was restored almost a decade later. The event was recorded by a local humorist, Tom Wise in a poem called ‘The Sterndale Blitz’.
They bombed our church them Germans did
In nineteen forty one
And left it there without a lid
Exposed to wind and sun
And when at last the war was o’er
And Hitler was the loser
We knelt, praying as of yore
Thanked God they missed the boozer
. Earl Sterndale's cottages
Some of Earl Sterndale's most picturesque greystone cottages. Photo: jason chadwick
2. Earl Sterndale's cottages
Some of Earl Sterndale's most picturesque greystone cottages. Photo: jason chadwick
3. St Michael's church
The Church of St Michael in Earl Sterndale was built in 1828 on the site of an ancient chapel. After being hit by a German bomb in 1941, the church was partially destoryed before being restored in 1952. Photo: jason chadwick
4. Earl Sterndale C of E Primary School
The thriving, but small, East Sterndale primary school, built in 1895. Photo: jason chadwick