Leek is the principal town of the Staffordshire Moorlands & the most important centre on the south western edge of the Peak District. It stands on a hill in a large bend in the River Churnet & is locally known as The Queen of the Moorlands. The town was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Lec but there was certainly a settlement here well before that because the churchyard contains two crosses
- one is in Mercian style but is damaged & can be dated to the 10th century while the other is a magnificent 11th century Norse style cross. In the late 18th & 19th centuries the town changed from a sleepy market town to a centre of silk weaving & several large mills were constructed one of which can be seen looming above the road to Macclesfield. Leek boomed & the population multiplied during this time but nothing now remains of the silk industry in Leek. The town still has a lively shopping centre & a market every Wednesday & is a good centre from which to explore the south & west of the Peak.