The name derives from Walter Stonewell, who "held of the convent" the house next to the bridge which John de Strepul built at his own expense, in 1393.

To the east of the village is the steep climb to Crich and the National Tramway Museum, while a short distance to the north is the former rope-worked incline of the Cromford and High Peak Railway.

To the south, on the west bank of the Derwent, lies Shining Cliff Woods, owned and managed by the Grith Pioneers.

There were two pubs at the turn of the century, but the Wheatsheaf is now a private residence, and the Derwent Hotel is a cafe/restaurant called the Family Tree.

But they managed to procure a loaf and a currant-loaf, which they hacked to pieces with shut knives, and ate sitting on the wall near the bridge, watching the bright Derwent rushing by, and the brakes from Matlock pulling up at the inn."