The name of Delverne, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book, suggests that the area was known for coal mining nearly a thousand years ago.

Originally, the landowner wouldn't let anyone prospect for coal on her land, and when finally a shaft was sunk in 1880 it was called "Manns Pit", instead of Foxfield.

[2] In a sign of the times, when the first Woodhead coal was mined all the colliery's staff were treated to a grand supper at the Wagon and Horses Public House.

The pit continued to grow and by 1893 Foxfield became the first mine in Cheadle to have its own rail connection to the national rail network as a three and a half mile branch line was opened to Blythe Bridge and connection to the NSR Stoke to Derby line.

Foxfield, along with the rest of the coal industry was nationalised in 1947, and the pit entered a period of expansion where by 1954 the workforce stood at 550 with 210,000 tonnes mined a year.

Agriculture in Dilhorne still plays a large part in the village, but the number of farms and workers has dramatically decreased over the years.

Another pub which closed a few years ago was the Rose and Crown near Foxfield Colliery in the Godley Brook area.

Dilhorne Hall was the ancestral home of the Buller family who were noted in the legal profession in London during the 19th Century.