Roaches Grit is a coarse sandstone which outcrops widely throughout the western part of the Peak District

Peak District

The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....

 of northern England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and gives rise to several significant landscape features in the area. Its counterpart in the eastern part of the National Park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

 is the Ashover Grit.

The combined Roaches Grit and Ashover Grit are amongst the most widespread sandstone units within the Millstone Grit Group

Millstone Grit

Millstone Grit is the name given to any of a number of coarse-grained sandstones of Carboniferous age which occur in the Northern England. The name derives from its use in earlier times as a source of millstones for use principally in watermills...

 of the Peak District. Along with other similar sandstones, such as the immediately overlying Chatsworth Grit, it is assigned to the Marsdenian sub-stage of the Namurian

Namurian

The Namurian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 326 and 313 Ma . It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The Namurian is named for the Belgian city and province of Namur where strata of this age...

 stage within the Carboniferous

Carboniferous

The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...

 period.

The two units which, prior to the doming and erosion of the central Peak District were once one, are interpreted as delta-top sandstones. The deposited material was brought down from a northerly source by braided rivers.

Landscape features

Amongst the features for which the Roaches Grit is responsible are Axe Edge, The Roaches

The Roaches

The Roaches is the name given to a prominent rocky ridge situated above Leek and Tittesworth Reservoir in the Peak District of England...

, Hen Cloud, Ramshaw Rocks, Back Forest and Hangingstone. The natural chasm of Lud’s Church

Lud's Church

Lud's Church is a deep chasm penetrating the Millstone Grit bedrock created by a massive landslip on the hillside above Gradbach, Staffordshire, England. It is located at in a wood known as Back Forest, in the White Peak, towards the southwest fringe of the Peak District National Park about 4 km...

 is developed within the Roaches Grit whilst it also forms the lower slopes of Shutlingsloe

Shutlingsloe

Shutlingsloe is a hill near the village of Wildboarclough, in the east of the county of Cheshire. It stands to the south of Macclesfield Forest, on the edge of the Peak District and within the Peak District National Park....

.

Equally the Ashover Grit contributes to the landscape in the form of Stanton Moor

Stanton Moor

Stanton Moor is a small upland area in the Derbyshire Peak District of central and northern England, lying between Matlock and Bakewell near the villages of Birchover and Stanton-in-Peak. It is known for its megaliths and erratics.-Archaeology:...

 and Harthill Moor. The former is home to gritstone quarries whilst the latter boasts Robin Hood’s Stride

Robin Hood's Stride

Robin Hood's Stride is a rock formation on the Limestone Way in Derbyshire close to Bakewell, between Harthill Moor and the Alport-Winster road. It consists of gritstone boulders deeply seamed by water flows. Limited short climbing is possible; nearby Cratcliffe Tor provides more serious routes...

 and Cratcliffe Tor. Much of the country around Edensor

Edensor

Edensor is a village in Derbyshire, England. It is the closest village to Chatsworth House and much of it belongs to the Dukes of Devonshire. Originally the village was close to the River Derwent immediately below Chatsworth, but the Dukes had it moved out of sight over a hill, apart from one...

 and Baslow

Baslow

Baslow is a village in Derbyshire, England, in the Peak District, lying between Sheffield and Bakewell. It is situated on the River Derwent just north of Chatsworth House. A seventeenth century bridge spans the river in the village, alongside which is a contemporary toll house...

 (though not Baslow Edge) and around Ashover

Ashover

Ashover is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. It is in the North East Derbyshire district of the county. It sits in a picturesque valley, not far from the town of Matlock and the Peak District national park. The centre of the village is a conservation area. The River Amber flows through...

, from whence it derives its name, is underlain and shaped by this rock.