Although there is evidence of earlier settlement in the area, Bakewell itself was probably founded in Anglo-Saxon times in the Anglian kingdom of Mercia.

[4] The Domesday Book listing stated that King Edward the Confessor held land here and there was a church and a mill.

[7] In the early 14th-century, the vicar was terrorised by the Coterel gang, which evicted him and confiscated his church's money at the instigation of the canons of Lichfield Cathedral.

Villages near Bakewell include Ashford-in-the-Water, Elton, Great Longstone, Monyash, Over Haddon, Sheldon, Rowsley, Pilsley, Youlgreave and Baslow.

A major employer is the Peak District National Park Authority, with its offices at Aldern House, Baslow Road.

The 19th century listed building was deemed as not suitable for the delivery of modern healthcare during the Better Care Closer to Home conference led by NHS commissioners in 2017.

Although only the base and lower part of the shaft survive, it stands over 5 ft/152 cm high and is carved on all four faces.

[20] During restoration work on the church in the 1840s, many carved fragments of Saxon stonework were found in and around the porch, along with some ancient stone coffins.

The church contains a selection of medieval and Anglo-Saxon cross fragments and carved stones collected by Thomas Bateman and donated to Weston Park Museum in Sheffield, before they were moved to Bakewell in 1899.

[20] They include a notable alabaster memorial to Sir Godfrey de Foljambe, who acquired the manor of Bakewell about 1350, and to his wife Avena.

Such pandering to landowners was common at the time, as their support was needed to pass the Act of Parliament allowing the line to be built.

There have been efforts to reopen the remaining Wye Valley portion of the line, which would run through Bakewell and over the Monsal Dale viaduct.

To keep up intentions for a future return of the railway, Derbyshire County Council currently protects the track bed from development.

[citation needed] The A6, which links Carlisle with Luton, runs through the town; it connects Bakewell with Buxton, Matlock and Derby.

Bakewell tart is a different confection, made with shortcrust pastry, an almond topping and a sponge and jam filling.

The origins of these are not clear, but the popular story goes that the combination began by accident in 1820, when the landlady of the White Horse Inn (now the Rutland Arms Hotel) left instructions for her cook to make a jam tart with an egg and almond paste pastry base.

[32] In 1888, William Storrs Fox, a Cambridge graduate and naturalist, founded St Anselm's School, Bakewell.

Rugby union is played regularly by Bakewell Mannerians RUFC, which competes in Midlands 2 East (North).

[39] Bakewell has a recreation park to the east of the centre, with tennis courts, a children's playground, and football and cricket pitches.

After a campaign by a local newspaper, his conviction was overturned in 2002, by which time Downing had served 27 years in prison.

This is thought to be the longest miscarriage of justice in British legal history,[42][43][44] and attracted worldwide media attention.

[45] Bakewell is named by the protagonist Elizabeth Bennet as the town from which she travelled to Pemberley in Chapter 43 of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.