The current Ordnance Survey map shows a 'Stone Circle' and 'Settlement' on Lawrence Field. The stone circle is a matter of some debate as to whether it was placed there deliberately or whether it is what Peak District Archaeologist, John Barnatt, refers to as 'a fortuitous arrangement of stones'. Anyone who wants to see a stone circle there will be able to find one, but sceptics will probably remain unconvinced. Stone circles are generally attributed to the late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age.

The settlement is a more obvious feature, although it is still necessary to know what to look for in order to find it. It consists of a large oval enclosure, much of the wall of which can still be seen. Within the enclosure are many stone rows and clearance cairns, indicating that the land was cultivated at one time. This area is known as an 'assart', and the process of 'assarting' was the clearing of woodland and moorland to form farmland. One cairn, outside the enclosure wall is possibly Bronze Age.

Within the enclosure are the remains of two longhouses, the smaller of which was probably an outhouse and is overgrown with grass and heather. The remains of the larger building can be clearly seen and the shape of the buildings (not rectangular but with rounded ends) and layout of the site suggests it may be Viking in origin. The area was within the Danelaw, the administrative area agreed between King Alfred and the Danish King Guthrum around 880 AD. Limited excavation of the larger hut has produced potsherds believed to date from the 11th or 12th-century, making it late Saxon or early Medieval in date.

To identify the site it is easiest to follow the footpath down opposite the entrance to the Surprise View car park. The path bends to the right and the larger longhouse is on the left just after the path enters the trees. The smaller longhouse is several yards to the right of the path just before this point is reached, and the assart wall can be located below the larger longhouse and followed along the top of Padley Wood, round to the right before the modern enclosure wall is reached and then back towards the footpath leading down from the car park.

Sources

• Dr Phil Sidebottom, University of Sheffield
• The Henges, Stone Circles and Ringcairns of the Peak District by John Barnatt 1990
  Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield
• The North Derbyshire Archaeological Survey to AD 1500 by C R Hart 1984
  Sheffield City Museums
• Peak District by John Barnatt & Ken Smith 1997
  English Heritage/Batsford
• National Monuments Record, NMR number SK 27 NE 2
• Later Anglo-Saxon England by Andrew Reynolds 1999 Tempus