scholars. At one time 29 families were receiving weekly relief and 23 families occasional relief, nearly a quarter of the population. The first record of coalmining in the parish comes from 1401 when Thomas Smith took a year's lease on the 'vein coal' of Black Brook, near Upper Hulme. There were a large number of coal pits in the area, including Orchard Common, Blackclough, Hope, Goldsitch and Knotbury. They were worked throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, and some into the early 20th century, for both commercial and domestic use. Flash is an isolated community with a small population; it previously had a school attended by as few as four pupils (the school is now closed). Flash previously had a reputation for being a centre for illegal activities such as cock fighting and counterfeiting ('Flash money'). According to some sources, the counterfeit money manufactured at Flash used to be exchanged at the nearby Three Shire Heads (where Staffordshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire meet, and where prizefighting was also said to have taken place. The village currently has a village shop, Flash Bar Stores, and a brewery, Flash Brewery, which produces bottled beer suitable for vegans. St Paul's is the parish church of Quarnford, in the middle of Flash village. The church was rebuilt in 1901 to the design by Buxton architect William Radford Bryden and is a Grade II listed building. Methodist history Wesleyan Methodism was so well established in Flash during the 18th century that a chapel was built as early as 1784. At this time, there were 61 Methodist "members of Society". This account suggests that Flash became a centre from which Methodism spread into other neighbouring villages, such as Hollinsclough. See also Listed buildings in Quarnford Notes and references External links Quarnford Parish page on ONS website Villages in Staffordshire Towns and villages of the Peak District Staffordshire Moorlands