Formerly a part of Hartington parish, for which it is named, it has a mix of a number of villages and hamlets amongst a mainly rural and undulating landscape, and is wholly within the Peak District National Park.

The parish is roughly bounded by land features such as Earl Sterndale and Pomeroy settlements to the north, the River Dove to the west, the A515 road to the east, with Crowdecote, High Peak trail and Parsley Hay in the south.

Along the banks of the River Dove, comprises the Bowland Shale Formation which are mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposits, formed approximately 319 to 337 million years ago in the Carboniferous period.

There are a few tributaries that start from springs on higher ground, including the Swallow Brook which shapes a north western perimeter of the parish.

The parish has a large range of hills and dales, with the lowest points surrounding the River Dove to the south west, from 245 metres (804 ft).

The name Hartington possibly derived from an Anglo Saxon farmer Heorta in the 6th century,[5][6] and later became Hortedun when recorded in the 1086 Domesday survey.

[7] The area is rich in historical remains, prehistoric examples including caves with occupational evidence dating from 500000BC such as at Etches near Dowel farm[8] and from 40000BC at Fox Hole.

There are some barrows and cairns throughout the area typically dating from the Bronze Era, such as at Hindlow,[14] close to High Edge,[15] and at Glutton Hill,[16] although a number of others have since been destroyed by later mining and quarrying.

[21] The Middle Quarter area was a part of the wider Hartington parish and manor, which was reported in 1066 at the time of the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror as under the ownership of Godwin of Tissington[22] and Ligulf.

By the time of the survey both manors had been granted to Henry de Ferrers as part of the wider Derbyshire holdings under the Honour of Duffield.

[25] Also, there was growth throughout the outlying area; in 1244 on public record was details of the surrounding hamlets that had since sprung up, in what would become the Middle Quarter were listed Stenredile (Earl Sterndale),[26] Crudecote (Crowdecote),[27] Salvin (Salham), Nedham (High Needham),[28][29] and Hordlawe (Hurdlow).

The manor and settlements were held by descendants until 1266 when Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby rebelled against Henry III and, after a defeat at the Battle of Chesterfield, lost his lands and titles.

In 1603 it was given to Sir George Hume but on his death in 1611 the holdings reverted to James I, who requested in 1614 a survey of the manor and the landholdings by William Heyward, including Earl Sterndale.

Earl Sterndall is a chapel of ease in the parish of Hartington, a member of the middle quarter, which is thought fitt to be made a parish church, and these hamletts of middle quarter, Harlee, Glutton, Doewall, Crowdicoate, Wheeldontrees, Needham Graunge, Hurdlow, Cronkston, and Sterndale, £2.

In February 1848 a parent, Esther Gould had been moved to a Lancashire asylum, and in October 1849 there was an attempt to formally resettle her two children to Hartington Middle Quarter, where their father and her husband resided.

[46] A trio of pillbox defences were built during World War II in the High Edge and surrounding area, with two of those within the parish, and installed close to or atop cairns which were affected by their construction.

[49][50] Earl Sterndale suffered badly in the aftermath of the 1947 winter, becoming cut off from the wider country for seven weeks by the snow drifts.

There were enhancements by the Ferrers to the manors except for the hunting area in the north, but also due to Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby being a great benefactor, founding Merevale Abbey, Warwickshire in 1148 for the Cistercian monks, and endowing it with land grants from his estates in Hartington, where there was much unused land.

The Cistercians were particularly adept at taking advantage of the trade in selling wool once it became more in demand from the continent in the 13th century, exporting it via ports such as Huil in East Riding of Yorkshire.

Later risks in supply, and labour shortages from the Black Death caused the monks to begin leasing their lands to tenants, which continued until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century.

A resurgence of activities took place in the 17th century throughout Hartington parish, much of the output was in the Upper Quarter area near Buxton, but the Middle Quarter also had some mining on a smaller scale, with pits in the Frith, Upper Edge, Chrome Hill, Earl Sterndale, High Needham, Crowdecote, Wheeldon Trees, Cronkstone and Parsley Hay,[4] and of which was mainly worked out by the 19th century.

North and west of the location of the drying oven has for many years been used as a refuse site and has also subject to mechanised ground tilling during the 20th and 21th centuries.

[55] Local occupations recorded in early 19th century censuses included a tannery at Abbot's Grove in Earl Sterndale,[38] also there was a bakery and baker's shop,[50] and post office and up to four public houses, with travelling salesmen providing a number of products such as tools and hardware, clothing and butchery.

Traffic – by this time almost exclusively from local quarries, with a handful of day trip excursions – was slowly decreasing during the Beeching era, and the first section of the line was closed in 1963.

Bed and breakfast facilities exist throughout the parish at various farms, outbuildings and public houses, catering particularly to tourists visiting the national park.

The parish has few facilities otherwise; shopping for some basic everyday items generally requires travelling to Longnor, Hartington or Buxton.

A monument is at Earl Sterndale church graveyard, commemorating locals who served in both World War I and WWII conflicts.