Manorial tenure began with Ascoit Musard in 1086 and ownership passed through members of several families including the Earl of Shrewsbury from 1593.

It is also believed to be once occupied by one of Derbyshire's best-known daughters Bess of Hardwick who married the owner of the Hall, Robert Barlow, who died in 1544.

The main house was built by local yeoman Arthur Mower, and it is believed this was around the time he married in 1620.

The manor of Barlow was held, with Staveley, by the Musards; it was afterwards in the ancient family of Abitot, a branch of which, on settling here, is supposed to have taken their name from the place.

The ground floor rooms retain good 17th-century hearths especially the pleasant kitchen with its wide segmental ashlar arch.

The house features a garage/coachhouse attached to the main structure, which shows signs of having been a two-storey arrangement at some point in the past.