Chapel-en-le-Frith derives its name from the church which was erected here by Foresters from the Royal Forest in 1225, Frith being a local word for forest.

The site chosen was on a ridge of land overlooking the upper Blackbrook valley and close to the junction of the Buxton-Glossop road with the salt trail which came from Cheshire and crossed Rushup Edge into Edale on its way to Sheffield and Yorkshire.

The town currently has a population of approximately 8,000. The modern town owes much of its prosperity to the Ferodo works, makers of brake linings and car components, whose factory dominates the western end of the town.