Charley Facts

In 1894 the area became a Civil Parish and now has a population of approximately 172 living in 73 properties that are mostly grouped in small isolated hamlets spread throughout the 13,232 Hectares (32,698 Acres) of the Parish.

Prior to the First World War the majority of the population were reliant on the land for their livelihood and did not own their homes.

Following 1918, increasingly more of the population found work in the surrounding towns and villages where the predominant industries were Extraction (Coal, Road stone and Clay) Boot and Shoe manufacture and Hosiery manufacture.

Now days only a very small proportion of the areas population work on the land. The majority of those that do are Tenant Farmers with most relying on other members of their family to seek employment outside of agriculture or have had to diversify to supplement the farm income and stay in business.

Like most of the rural areas in Great Britain the majority of properties in the areas are now owned and occupied by incomers seeking an escape to the country, with some of their occupiers now commuting much greater distances than they did even twenty years ago. The majority of the owner occupiers of farms in the area have purchased their properties in the last thirty years or so and do not rely on the land to provide them with their sole income and they either let their land to the local tenant farmers or employ contractors to farm the land for them.

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