The area has been inhabited since
Mesolithic times: Mesolithic flints and
Neolithic stones axes have been found in the vicinity. A bronze spearhead was found in a local quarry dating to the late
Bronze Age . The village itself has
medieval origins, and although the original houses have long been replaced, the village still retains its medieval pattern. On the north of the village are the remains of
St Botolph’s Chapel. What remains is an
earthwork mound surrounded by a modern housing estate (Kirk Rise). The site was excavated in 1995, before the estate was built, and the probable remains of an ecclesiastical building were discovered. It is thought this was built around the 10th or 11th century and dedicated to the east Anglian saint St Botolph, who lived in the 7th century and was very popular in medieval times, though little is now known about him. It is thought the village originally may have been named after the saint. The first specific mention of a chapel at Frosterley is in a document of 1346. As late as 1522, the chapel was still in use, but by the late 18th century it was described as 'disused' and 'gone to decay'. The place name Frosterley is first mentioned in the
Bolden Book in 1183. Another reference to the place-name 'Frosterley' occurs in the Close Rolls of 1239, where it appears as
Forsterlegh, meaning 'the forester's clearing'. The parish church of St Michael and All Angels was buil tin 1869 by G. R. Street. The parish hall was originally a chapel of ease built in 1833. There were also a Primitive Methodist chapel (at Bridge End) and a Wesleyan Methodist chapel. == Frosterley Marble ==