Bakewell's name is said to derive from the warm springs in the area - the Domesday book entry calls the town 'Badequella', meaning Bath-well. The town was built on the West bank of the Wye at a spot where it was fordable and the site was probably occupied in Roman times (there is a Roman altar found at Haddon Hall nearby). The Saxons left their mark here and in 924 Edward the Elder ordered a fortified borough to be built here. The church was founded in 920 and some Saxon fragments can be seen in the porch.

Little except the bridge across the Wye (built around 1300 though widened since then) now survives of the old Bakewell, which was quite medieval in character until the early 19th century. In 1777 Arkwright opened a mill in the town and it was perhaps the resulting surge in prosperity which caused the town to be largely rebuilt in the 19th century.

The picturesque early thirteenth century bridge spans the river Wye. During the early part of its history, it formed a much used Pack Horse way that led towards Sheffield and Chesterfield. To the west of Bakewell, this route went via the Old Portway and Haddon Fields towards Alport.