As a result of the construction of the M1 Motorway in the 1960s, and more recently the A617 into Chesterfield, many of the linking roads from Heath to its neighbouring villages were severed.

In the Domesday Survey of 1086, two settlements are recorded around the present location of the village of Heath; they were called Lunt and Le Hethe.

The manor of the village was in the possession of Robert de Ferrars, the First Earl of Derby, who gave it to the monks of Garendon Abbey.

The buildings in the village are constructed mainly from the local cream-coloured sandstone, coupled with a variety of traditional roofing materials.

Many of the revamped private residences retain the names of the previous existence, such as The Old Reading Room and Smithy Cottage.