The ancient Parish Church of St Helens in Darley Dale is dominated by an even more ancient and famous yew tree, one of the thickest in England, having a girth of around 33 feet, 4 feet from the ground. It is believed to be well over a 1000 years old. The church dates from the 12th century and contains monuments to Sir John de Darley who was Lord of the Manor over 600 years ago, and in the chancel, a Kneeling John Milward, his wife and their 11 children. John was a colonel in the Kings Army during the Civil War, and they lived at Smitherton Hall. a stone gabled Elizabethan house situated 2 miles from the church.