The settlement is based around the 13th century church of the Holy Cross though there is evidence of a chapel site in the 8th century AD.

This is a rural community with a varied industry of farming, framework knitting and shallow pit coal mining.  A colliery mine shaft was sunk in 1865 by the Clay Cross Coal and Iron Company (Morton No.5) and a second mine was sunk in 1874 (Morton No.6).  The colliery closed in 1965.