The civil parish is predominantly rural, with many scattered minor settlements, the largest of which is the small village of Burleydam.
Its timber-framed structure was hidden under a Gothic remodelling of around 1814–21, in which cement render, castellations and windows with pointed arches were added.
[9] The other listed buildings and structures within the park date from the 18th and 19th centuries; many also have Gothic features.
St Michael's Church and its gates and railings in Burleydam are also associated with the Cotton family.
[10] The earliest is believed to be Butterley Heyes, an early 17th-century farmhouse which is one of the parish's grade-II*-listed buildings.