[4] Middleton and Smerrill is surrounded by the following local places:[3] The parish is roughly bounded by land features such as the Long Rake road and disused Long Rake mine to the north, an old Roman road route is to the west, River Bradford and Rowlow Brook in the east, while Smerrill Moor lies to the south.

[18] During late medieval times the abbot and monks of Leicester possessed a sizable tract of land immediately south west of Middleton and had a grange here to which a chapel was attached but little of this remains.

During the English Civil War his son, Sir Christopher Fulwood, a staunch royalist, organised around a thousand lead miners with plans to march to Derby and support Charles I when the castle was attacked by a force of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers in November 1643.

[6] A subsequent owner of the manor was Viscount Howe, later being sold by heirs to Thomas Bateman, whose family held Hartington Hall.

His grandson Thomas Bateman Junior had laid the chapel's foundation stone when he was just 4 years old, and inherited the Middleton estate on his grandfather's death in May 1847.

[24] He was buried in "Bateman's Tomb" close to the chapel, surrounded by iron railings and atop of which is a stone replica of a Bronze Age urn, in reference to his interests.

[21][25] A number of churches existed within Middleton; the most substantial, St Michael and All Angels' Chapel is of unknown origin but thought to have been built from the 16th century onwards, and fell into disuse towards the end of the 19th.

[26][27] Middleton Hall and the surrounding park was sold by Thomas Bateman's estate at the end of the 19th century in lieu of debts and death duties.

[30] The earthwork, buried and standing remains of the abandoned areas of Smerrill village are well preserved and retain important archaeological and ecological deposits.

BJ 652 crashed close to Smerrill Grange along with six Royal Australian Air Force crew members who perished in the aftermath.

Limekilns locations have been recorded locally, suggesting limestone mining and processing taking place in the vicinity from medieval times, until the end of the 19th century.

[42] A mine producing umber (a mix of iron and manganese oxides) reusing an old lead workings site was close to Smerrill Moor in the south of the parish.

[43] There were quarries also mining sandstone in the 20th century for the nearby Friden Brick Works based, in Hartington Nether Quarter parish,[37][22] with a narrow-gauge railway running through into Middleton Common and Kenslow Knoll to transport the output of those areas, continuing until the late 1970s.

[8] There is a sizeable site north of Middleton Common alongside the Long Rake lane used for the supply of aggregates for landscaping, decorative surface dressing for resin bound applications, pebble dashing and flooring, operating since the middle 1980s.

[6] Other local businesses include a upholsters and furnishings workshop, collectors of vintage vehicles and a cast iron design and fix company.

[6] A number of farms provides holiday accommodation and bed & breakfast facilities, to cater for Peak District visitors.

[45] The Limestone Way long distance walking route skirts the north east boundary close to the River Bradford.

[46][47][24] Middleton Rocks is an annual one-day music event featuring several bands held in the centre of the village, with food and drink stalls, alongside various activities.

[50] There are 31 listed structures within the parish, including Middleton Hall, Thomas Bateman's Congregational Chapel along with his tomb close by, an ex-telephone defibrillator kiosk and several farmhouses.

Several tumuli exist throughout the parish, in Middleton Common the most notable are Gib Hill which has the remains of a possible henge,[51][52] Kenslow Knoll and Ringham Low, with others in Smerrill Moor.