The village of Froggatt sits on the eastern bank of the River Derwent and is overshadowed by Froggatt Edge, a towering escarpment formed by glacial action in the last Ice Age some ten thousand years ago. Littered with huge boulders of gritstone, the sides of the valley are now a picture of sylvan beauty, being wooded with silver birch, oak and ash beneath which a carpet of wild flowers appears in spring and summer. The higher ground beneath Froggatt Edge is dominated by bracken and bilberry which create a golden glow against the rocks in autumn.
From Froggatt it is 3 miles south to Baslow and 7 miles south-south-west to Bakewell
The name Froggatt has several derivations including Frog Cottage, Frogga Cot and in 1203 a document recorded the settlement here as being Froggegate.
Spanning the River Derwent, Froggatt Bridge which dates back to the 17th century is most unusual as it was constructed with pointed and rounded arches side by side. Across the bridge from Froggatt the road leads up to an old toll cottage by the side of Stoke Hall.
Built using stone from its own quarry which is still worked in the woods nearby, Stoke Hall has had many owners over the centuries. The first occupant of the estate was Gerbert de Stoke in 1204, although the present hall was built around 1757. It passed through the ownership of a succession of Sheffield businessmen during the last century before being turned into a hotel and restaurant for a while, although it has now reverted to being a private residence again.
In the 19th century Stoke Hall was the scene of a foul crime when a servant called Flora was brutally murdered there. Her employers erected a statue to her memory which for a while was reputed to move positions in the woods whilst her ghost is said to haunt the hall. The Fair Flora statue still stands in private woodland.
There are fabulous riverside paths beside the Derwent at Froggatt including a section of the Derwent Valley Heritage Way which follows Spooner Lane south to Derwent Farm and then over Froggatt Bridge before following the riverside path to Curbar Bridge.
Until the 20th century, Froggatt used to be part of the Duke of Rutland’s Estate from Haddon Hall, and many of the picture postcard cottages in the village were constructed on the Duke’s instructions. However, dotted about along the valley are a variety of select residences built mainly in the latter part of the last century to satisfy commuters to Chesterfield and Sheffield who could live in one of the most desirable areas of the Peak District National Park whilst being only a half hours journey from either commercial metropolis.
The local pub for the residents of Froggatt is The Chequers Inn below Froggatt Edge which stands on a site that has occupied a hostelry for more than five hundred years, although the present building which was a former coaching inn dates back to the 18th century.