The parish contains the town of Belper, the village of Milford, smaller settlements, including Makeney and Bargate, and the surrounding countryside.
Industry has been a major feature in the town, initially with nail making, and some workshops have survived and are listed.
[1] Major industry arrived towards the end of the 18th century when Jedediah Strutt and Richard Arkwright built a textile mill in the town.
[2][3] The Strutt family built housing for their workers in Belper and Milford, usually in the form of long terraces,[1][4] many of which have survived and are listed.
Between 1835 and 1840 the North Midland Railway built a line through the centre of the town which passed through a deep cutting.