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Borough of Chesterfield
Chesterfield	Shown within Derbyshire
Geography
Status:	Borough
Region:	East Midlands
Admin. County:	Derbyshire
Area: - Total	Ranked 284th 66.04 km²
Admin. HQ:	Chesterfield
ONS code:	17UD
Demographics
Population: - Total () - Density	Ranked / km²
Ethnicity:	96.6% White
Politics
Chesterfield Borough Council [1]
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:
MPs:	Paul Holmes, Natasha Engel, Dennis Skinner

Chesterfield is a historic market town and local government district in Derbyshire, a county in England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Including Staveley, the population (2001) is 100,879, although the town itself is 70,260. It is Derbyshire's largest town, although the county town of Derbyshire is Matlock in the Derbyshire Dales. Around 250,000 people live in the immediate area nearby including Dronfield, Bolsover, Staveley, Shirebrook and Clay Cross. It is located at on the A61, fairly close to the M1 (via the A617 to junction 29).

History

The town received its market charter in the year 1204 from King John and around two hundred and fifty stalls can still be found in the town centre every Monday, Friday and Saturday.

Chesterfield benefited greatly from the building of the Chesterfield Line - part of the Derby to Leeds railway (North Midland Line), which was begun in 1837 by George Stephenson. During its construction, a sizeable seam of coal was discovered during the construction of the Clay Cross Tunnel. This and the local ironstone were promptly exploited by Stephenson who set up a company in Clay Cross to trade in the minerals.

During his time in Chesterfield, Stephenson lived at Tapton House, and remained there until his death in 1848. He is interred in Trinity Church. In 2006, a statue of Stephenson was erected outside Chesterfield railway station. Chesterfield is perhaps best known for the "Crooked Spire" of its Church of Saint Mary and All Saints and is why the local football team is known as The Spireites. The spire is both twisted and leaning, twisting 45 degrees and leaning 9 feet 6 inches from its true centre. The leaning characteristic is believed to be the result of the absence of skilled craftsmen (the Black Death had been gone only twelve years prior to the spire's completion), insufficient cross-bracing, and the use of unseasoned timber. There have been other explanations: One is that the spire was so shocked to learn of the marriage of a virgin in the church that it bent down to get a closer look. Should this happen again, it is said that the spire will straighten and return to its true position. Another is that a Bolsover blacksmith mis-shoed the Devil, who leaped over the spire in pain, knocking it out of shape.^[1]

A new landmark is being erected on the outskirts of the town - the Solar Pyramid, which will be built by the side of the M1 at Poolsbrook. Work on the 'sculpture', which will be the largest in the UK, commenced late Summer 2007 and is expected to be complete by mid-2008.

Chesterfield's current boundaries date from April 1, 1974, when under the Local Government Act 1972, Chesterfield took in the urban district of Staveley and the parish of Brimington from Chesterfield Rural District.

Chesterfield is the location for the headquarters of the local newspaper, the Derbyshire Times.

Local economy

In the last 30 years, the economy in and around Chesterfield has experienced major change, moving the employment base away from the primary and secondary sectors, and towards the tertiary area. The area sits on a large coalfield and the area played host to many coal mines, including:

• Clay Cross
• Arkwright
• Bolsover
• Grassmoor
• North Wingfield
• Holmewood

From 1981 to 2002, 15,000 jobs in the coal industry disappeared^[2] and not a single colliery remains open, although open cast mining continued at Arkwright until a few years ago. Many of the sites were restored by contractor Killingleys for Derbyshire County Council.

Very little evidence of the industry remains today; a cyclist and walkers route, the so called "Five Pits Trail" now links some of the former collieries and most of the sites are now indistinguishable from the surrounding countryside.

Within the town itself, large factories and major employers have disappeared or relocated in the last 10 years including:

• Bryan Donkin's (Under development as Spire Walk Business Park)
• Chesterfield Cylinders (now Alma Leisure Park, includes Cannons Health Club, a Cineworld, Frankie and Benny's, McDonalds, Hobby Horse pub, and a Blockbusters)
• Markham & Co. (The Channel Tunnel between England and France used Tunnel Boring Machines manufactured here. The factory site is now a private housing estate).
• Dema Glass (site for Chesterfield's new football ground, which is now currently in development)

Whilst others have downsized significantly:

• GKN plc
• Robinson's (has demolished several buildings and cut thousands of jobs)

Manufacturing employment has fallen by a third since 1991, though the percentage of the population employed in manufacturing is still above the national average^[2], underlining how critical it has been to Chesterfield in the past. Today, smaller scale firms are to be found on several industrial estates, the largest of which is located at Sheepbridge.

Next to Tesco there is a 40 acre clearing due to Arnold Laver being demolished, and in its place there will be a new village including housing and new shops.

There is a Morrisons on the junction of Chatsworth Road (A619) and Walton Road (A632), a Sainsburys on Rother Way (A619 for Staveley), and a Tesco on the junction of the A619 and A61 (known as the Tesco Roundabout). The Institute of Business Advisers is based on Queen Street North. The Chesterfield Royal Hospital is on the A632 out towards Calow and Bolsover. Peak FM broadcasts from Sheepbridge on 107.4 via the nearby Chesterfield Transmitter, which also has Radio Sheffeld on 94.7. There are no DAB transmitters in Derbyshire yet. The town's biggest employer is the large and newly constructed Post Office located on the edge of the town centre. The Royal Mail's Pensions Service Centre is in the town on Boythorpe Road; formerly this was at Chetwynd House, now substantially demolished and replaced by the new Post Office building. Here a work by sculptor Barbara Hepworth Carved Reclining Form or Rosewall was prominently displayed for many years. The work was under the threat of being sold in 2005, but the plan was eventually scrapped.^[3]

Entertainment and leisure

Queens Park Leisure Centre

Chesterfield has a vast array of leisure, entertainment and social facilities. The Queens Park is located within the town centre and recently benefited from a multi-million pound programme of investment. Also on the outskirts of the park is Queens Park Leisure Centre, which has a large swimming pool and gym, several indoor courts (for a variety of sports) and several more outdoor tennis courts.

Vicar Lane

The shopping opportunities in Chesterfield are sizeable. Vicar Lane was redeveloped in 2000 to become a pedestrianised, open-air shopping area, that involved almost all of the existing buildings being demolished. The project was so large that two new streets were created in its development and it now plays host to major chains, such as Woolworths, BHS and Argos [2]. It is located near the crooked spire.

The Precinct

In the late 1970s a large area between Low Pavement (in the Market Square) and New Beetwell Street was completely flattened (except the original shop fronts) to build "The Pavements" shopping centre, more commonly known by local residents as "The Precinct", with larger shops including Somerfield and Boots, which was opened in November 1981 by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The design of the main axis of the development is in keeping with the prominence of the Crooked Spire in the town. It has entrances located opposite of Chesterfield Market and escalators leading down to New Beetwell Street. An enclosed bridge links the site to a multi-storey car park built at the same time and next to what is now a coach station.

Chesterfield Library's main entrance is located just outside the Pavements, at yet another exit that is next to McDonald's with steps leading down to New Beetwell Street. The library spans several floors and was planned as part of the development, but did not open until 1985. In 2003 Chesterfield Library was the 8th busiest in the UK, an astonishing achievement considering that it only serves a large town and not a city.

On 27 June 2007 the Somerfield store in the Precinct was completely gutted in a fire during which the roof collapsed. Fortunately, only a few shoppers suffered minor injuries.^[4] A fire chief has reported the fire being an accidental ignition. The fire started at 13:10 on 27 June and was not extinguished until 23:30 the same day. All the shops in the Precinct were closed and the whole area was evacuated. Other areas including the Market Hall were later evacuated as cordons were placed as the smoke became more problematic..<ref name="DT" />

Town centre

Despite all the aforementioned development, Chesterfield has retained much of its town centre from the pre-war era. As previously discussed, Chesterfield is home to one of the largest open air markets in Britain, the stalls sitting either side of the historic Market Hall. In the middle of town, a collection of narrow medieval streets make up "The Shambles", which houses The Royal Oak, one of Britain's oldest pubs.

Near Holywell Cross is Chesterfields largest department store, the local Co-op, more correctly "The Chesterfield and District Co-operative Society". Their buildings occupy the majority of Elder Way and include an enclosed bridge.

Food and Drink

Cuisine available in the area includes Chinese, Indian and Thai restaurants and takeaways. Several night clubs are located around the town, predominantly towards "The Doughnut", more correctly called "Holywell Cross Car Park". Scattered around the town are many bars and pubs, and west of the town centre the "Brampton Mile" provides 13 pubs on a one mile section of Chatsworth Road.

The Arts

The Winding Wheel, previously an Odeon Cinema and Fusion nightclub, is a multi-purpose venue, hosting concerts, exhibitions, conferences, dinners, family parties, dances, banquets, wedding receptions, meetings, product launches and lectures^[5]. Famous acts to appear of late include Ricky Tomlinson and Patrick McGuinness.

"The Pomegranate Theatre" is a listed Victorian building (in the Stephenson Memorial Building), with a small auditorium, seating around 500 people ^[6]. A variety of shows are performed throughout the year. Also in the Stephenson Memorial Building is the Chesterfield Museum, until 1984 it was used for the town's lending library. The museum is owned by Chesterfield Borough Council, as are the Winding Wheel and the Pomegranate Theatre. The box office for both entertainment venues is located in the entrance area of the theatre.

Sport

Chesterfield is home to the Football League Two club Chesterfield F.C. who play at the Recreation Ground (usually referred to as Saltergate). Chesterfield FC are known as the Spireites, after the Crooked Spire in the town. In 2005 plans were announced to build a new stadium on the old Dema Glass site north of the town in Whittington Moor, however the start of the building work is yet to be confirmed. The team's most notable achievement of recent years occurred in April 1997, when they reached the semi-final of the FA Cup, losing to Middlesbrough in a replay following a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford. It turned out to be one of the most controversial games in recent history with Chesterfield having a goal not given when referee David Elleray decided the ball had not crossed the goal line from a Jonathan Howard shot, a decision which was later proved incorrect by video replays. Had the goal stood the club would have progressed to the final of the FA Cup for the first time in its history - a feat which no club in the third tier of the league has achieved. The team has a fierce rivalry with neighbouring town Mansfield. In 2006 Chesterfield FC beat Premiership heavyweights Manchester City and West Ham to move into the last 16 of the Carling Cup where they were narrowly beaten on penalties by Charlton. Despite their Carling Cup exploits, Chesterfield were relegated on the penultimate game of the season

Also Chesterfield has a competitive athletic team which competes regularly all over England. Chesterfield & District Athletic Club is based at Queen’s Park Annexe - near Boythorpe Road south of the town centre, close to the cricket club. Chesterfield Swimming Club is based at the Queens Park Sports Centre on Boythorpe Road.

Queen's Park also plays host to Chesterfield Cricket Club and is an outground of Derbyshire County Cricket Club

Chesterfield also has its own amateur Sunday football league that plays host to over 100 teams on a Sunday morning. The Chesterfield and District Sunday Football League consists of nine divisions and 3 cup competitions.

Chesterfield Spires RLFC are a Rugby League club formed in the town in 2003 and currently play in the Midlands RL Merit League

A speedway training track operated at Glasshouse Farm in the early 1950s.

Transport

Chesterfield is located on the Midland Main Line and the former Great Central Railway (see Chesterfield railway station for more information), with Midland Mainline providing services to London and Sheffield; Virgin Trains to Newcastle, Birmingham, Bournemouth and Edinburgh and Central Trains to Liverpool, Nottingham and Norwich.

As well as railways, Chesterfield had a tramway system, built in 1882, and closed in 1927.

Junction 29 of the M1 motorway links Chesterfield to the motorway network, via the A617 dual-carriageway. Other major roads include the A61 (with a dual carriageway beginning in the town centre and continuing to Sheffield) and the A619 (a major inroad to the Peak District, eventually joining the A6 near Bakewell) and the A632 to Matlock.

Stagecoach plc are the predominant operator of buses, the only other significant operators are TM Travel and Trent Barton. A new coach station was recently built, with services provided by Megabus and National Express. The Stagecoach depot at Stonegravels is notable for its size and many vehicles stored there are not in regular use. Several firms operate taxi services.

The nearest airfield is Netherthorpe Aerodrome, however this not licensed for commercial flights. When travelling by air, passengers usually do so via East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Doncaster Robin Hood and Manchester airports.

Education

The borough of Chesterfield has many schools within and around it. There are several secondary schools in the area (most of which are community schools; Hasland Hall, Brimington Junior School, Brookfield, Tupton Hall School, Parkside, Meadows, Netherthorpe, Newbold (which has just moved into a new £17 million school building), Deincourt and Springwell) almost half have a Sixth Form. There is also a Roman Catholic school, St Mary's Roman Catholic High School, in Newbold.

A Further Education college, Chesterfield College, is located within a 5 minute walk of Chesterfield railway station and offers many courses.

Famous people

Famous people to come from Chesterfield include:

• Olave Baden-Powell, wife to Robert Baden-Powell and Chief Guide from 1918 until her death in 1977
• Baron Bowden,
• Paul Burrell, former royal butler/ author^[7]
• Barbara Castle former Labour government minister,
• Simon Groom^[8], Blue Peter presenter
• Jo Guest, glamour model
• John Hurt, actor ^[9]
• Ian Hyland, Daily Mirror television critic
• Jeremy Kemp, actor ^[10]
• John Lukic, footballer
• Henry Normal, co-writer of The Royle Family
• Johnny Pearson, Composer of theme tunes for Captain Pugwash, News at Ten and All Creatures Great and Small
• Samuel Pegge (1704-1796), antiquary, Old Whittington vicar.
• Sir Robert Robinson , Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on plant dyestuffs (anthocyanins) and alkaloids.
• Mark Shaw, lead singer of 1980s band Then Jerico
• Bob Wilson, footballer
• Peter Wright, MI5 officer, author of Spycatcher was born here^[11]

Other famous people associated with the town:

• Gordon Banks - England's World Cup Winning goalkeeper played for Chesterfield FC between 1955 and 1959.
• Tony Benn — Labour MP for Chesterfield from 1984-2001.
• The Venerable Edmond Francis Crosse, was the first Archdeacon of Chesterfield.
• Erasmus Darwin (12 December 1731 – 18 April 1802), one of the founder members of the Lunar Society, a discussion group of pioneering industrialists and natural philosophers. He was educated at Chesterfield School.
• George Stephenson — ended his days at Tapton House - now a Chesterfield College campus.

Twinnings

Chesterfield is twinned with:

• Darmstadt in Germany
• Troyes in Northern France
• Yangquan in the Shanxi province of China
• Nahavand in the hamadan province of iran
• Tsumeb in Namibia

International events

Chesterfield is home to gluten free beer, with the first ever international gluten free beer festival held in Chesterfield in February 2006^[12]. The event was hailed internationally as a success, and the organisers are working to repeat the event for 2007. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) hosted the event with the cooperation of Glutenfreebeerfestival.com and brewers of gluten free beer from all parts of the globe have announced that they wish to attend and present their brews to the public at the next Chesterfield event, under discussion between the organisers and the local authority.

External links

• Derbyshire Times
• Paul Holmes MP
• Chesterfield Borough Council
• Visit Chesterfield
• Guide to the town
• Chesterfield Photographs - A collection of photos around the town and inside the church.
• Photos of Chesterfield on Flickr
• Spire and District - Community charity website.
• Chesterfield Canal Trust
• Chesterfield Hockey Club
• Chesterfield Forum - Chesterfield On-line Chat
• Ladies Football Team
• Chesterfield Football Club
• Chesterfield & district Sunday league football team
• Derbyshire Secondary School Tables
• Inkersall Athletic FC - Members of the Chesterfield and District Sunday Football League
• Comprehensive guide to Chesterfield & surrounding areas

References

See also

•  • [ e] Districts of the East Midlands

Amber Valley • Ashfield • Bassetlaw • Blaby • Bolsover • Boston • Broxtowe • Charnwood • Chesterfield • Corby • Daventry • Derby • Derbyshire Dales • East Lindsey • East Northamptonshire • Erewash • Gedling • Harborough • High Peak • Hinckley and Bosworth • Kettering • Leicester • Lincoln • Mansfield • Melton • Newark and Sherwood • Northampton • North East Derbyshire • North Kesteven • North West Leicestershire • Nottingham • Oadby and Wigston • Rushcliffe • Rutland • South Derbyshire • South Holland • South Kesteven • South Northamptonshire • Wellingborough • West Lindsey Counties with multiple districts: Derbyshire • Leicestershire • Lincolnshire • Northamptonshire • Nottinghamshire

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