The first reference to the Parish of Elmton with Creswell occurs in the Domesday Book, completed in 1086, in which we read “Elmton (or Helmtune) has a priest and a church”. The commission employed to complete the survey had been working for some time before 1086, so the reference to a Priest and Church may be even older. Tradition had it that there was a Roman encampment on a hill close to the church, but there is no written record. An ancient silver coin bearing the name ‘Caesar’ on one side was found on farmland, but we can only assume that Elmton dates from Saxon times.

Elmton has never had a large population. James Pilkington, writing in 1789, said that the parish of Elmton includes the hamlet of Creswell and that the number of houses in both places is about 52.

In that century lived a remarkable character. Jedidiah Buxton was the grandson of the Vicar and the son of the schoolmaster. He was extremely illiterate and worked as a common labourer. However, he became noted for his great ability in arithmetical calculations and was once induced to walk to London with a view to seeing the Royal Family, to whom he was introduced and several questions posed to try his talents. His answers were so satisfactory that he returned home with a handsome gratuity. Buxton died in 1770 and although his grave is unknown a portrait of him hangs in the church vestry.

The present church at Elmton, dedicated to St Peter, was built in 1771 when the previous building fell into disrepair. It consists of a chancel, nave and a low tower that reaches only a few feet above the roof and contains 3 bells recast in 1845. The Duke of Portland reseated the church in 1894 and a vestry and an organ chamber were added at the expense of the parishioners. The registers date back prior to the building of the present structure to 1559 and are in an excellent state of preservation

In the last decade of the 19th century many hamlets and villages were subject to rapid growth and transformation as a result of the expansion of the coal industry. Early in the 1890s Creswell was still a hamlet with about 600 people and was part of the parish of Elmton, but by the turn of the century the position changed and Creswell became the village with 2500 people and Elmton a hamlet of about 100.

In 1894 the Bolsover Colliery Company inaugurated a period of rapid expansion with the sinking of Creswell Colliery. Experts were convinced that there was every probability of there being a good seam of coal in the district. Sinking operations were begun in September 1894 and after a shaft had been sunk to a depth of 445 yards a 6 feet seam of coal was struck in 1896. Coal turning was commenced in April 1897, exactly 2½ years after the digging of the first sod.

Earlier that year work was begun on building homes for the expected influx of miners and their families, church services being held in Creswell Schoolroom at this time. A site for a church building was needed for the inhabitants of the old and new parts of the village.

At the same time the schools were considerably enlarged to meet the requirements of a growing population and were on a site close to that chosen for the church.

The growth of Creswell led to the decision that the vicar should live close by the larger daughter church rather than in Elmton near the mother church. In 1912 the vicar moved to the Creswell vicarage which had been built in 1901 and used by the curates. From 1912 the curates took lodgings with a Mrs Ratcliffe on Elmton Road. The Elmton vicarage was then sold.