Cowley is a small dispersed settlement in North East Derbyshire

North East Derbyshire

North East Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. It borders the districts of Chesterfield, Bolsover, Amber Valley and Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire, and Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire....

, consisting of a few private houses and functioning farms strung out along Cowley Lane, which runs between the village of Holmesfield

Holmesfield

Holmesfield is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire. Steeped in history, the name "Holmesfield" means "raised pasture-land" and comes from Norse and Anglo-Saxon origin...

 and the "Hill Top" neighbourhood of the town of Dronfield

Dronfield

Dronfield is a town in North East Derbyshire in the North Midlands region of England. It comprises the three communities of Dronfield, Dronfield Woodhouse and Coal Aston. It is sited in the valley of the small River Drone, and lies between the town of Chesterfield and the city of Sheffield. The...

. It holds an annual well dressing

Well dressing

Well dressing is a summer custom practised in rural England in which wells, springs or other water sources are decorated with designs created from flower petals...

 in the grounds of Cowley Mission, a small chapel founded in 1888 and still active.

History

Cowley is mentioned in the Domesday book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 as belonging to Henry de Ferrers

Henry de Ferrers

Henry de Ferrers was a Norman soldier from a noble family who took part in the conquest of England and is believed to have fought at the Battle of Hastings of 1066 and, in consequence, was rewarded with much land in the subdued nation.His elder brother William fell in the battle. William and Henri...

 and being worth ten shillings. Henry was given a large number of manors in Derbyshire including Doveridge

Doveridge

Doveridge is a village and Civil parish in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, near the border with Staffordshire and about east of Uttoxeter. Its name comes from its bridge over the river Dove , a tributary of the River Trent....

, Breaston

Breaston

Breaston is a large village in the south-east of Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England near Long Eaton and close to the M1.-History:Breaston was mentioned in the Domesday book as belonging to Henry de Ferrers and being worth four shillings....

, Duffield and Hartshorne.

The name Cowley

Cowley (surname)

Cowley is a surname in the English language.-Etymology:The surname Cowley has numerous origins. In some cases it originated as a habitational name, derived from any of the several places in England named Cowley...

 has been described as coming from two Old English words, col for coal or earlier charcoal and leah for clearing, suggesting the charcoal burners' clearing. Coal (the Silkstone seam) is close to the surface in this area and has been worked for centuries, though no longer. Early coal workings would have been shallow, probably bell pit

Bell pit

A bell pit is a primitive method of mining coal, iron ore or other minerals where the coal or ore lies near the surface.. A shaft is sunk to reach the mineral which is excavated by miners transported to the surface by a winch and removed by means of a bucket, much like a well. It gets its name...

s; the nearest, deeper shaft marked on the Ordnance Survey map is about 800 m north of Cowley at SK337778, on the edge of modern Dronfield.