Chesterfield

Situated just three miles from the eastern boundary of the Peak District National Park, Chesterfield is a medieval market town with a history and treasures of its own. It is Derbyshire’s largest town (Derby itself being a city), although the county town of Derbyshire is Matlock in the Derbyshire Dales. The Domesday Book calls the town ‘Cestrefield’, meaning ‘open field’, which points towards its success as a market town. The market, established over 800 years ago and claiming to be England’s largest outdoor market, still remains a bustling area of the town itself, running on a Monday, Friday and Saturday, with an antique/bric-a-brac market on Thursday. More than 250 stalls crowd into the town centre, enabling the visitor to purchase almost anything.

The town centre has been conserved for future generations by a far-sighted council, and many buildings have been saved, including the Victorian Market Hall built in 1857. The traditional cobbled paving was restored in the Market Place, and New Square was given a complete facelift. It’s worth taking a walk down the narrow streets off the Market Place into the Shambles, an area of old, narrow streets featuring the Royal Oak, one of Chesterfield’s oldest public houses, first mentioned as an inn in 1722 formerly being a rest house for the Knights Templar band of Crusaders.

Visitors to the town are drawn to a peculiarly graceful spire on top of the Parish Church of St Mary and All Saints. Twisting and leaning, it is totally confusing to the eye, and gives Chesterfield its identity. Built, along with much of the rest of the church, in the 14th century, it was straight for several centuries before it began to twist. Its 228-foot spire stands on the skyline like a question mark: how did it happen? Superstition surrounds it and, sadly, the real story of its unusual appearance has been lost over the years. The truth probably lies in the wake of the Black Death during the 14th century when many fell to the plague and, among them, skilled craftsmen who knew how to correctly cross-brace and season wood. However, legends say a magician persuaded the Bolsover blacksmith to shoe the Devil. Shaking with fear, he drove a nail into the Devil’s foot. Howling in pain, the Devil took flight towards Chesterfield. Skimming over the church he lashed out in agony, caught the spire and twisted it out of shape. It now leans over 9 feet to the south, twisting 45 degrees from its true centre and is still moving. It is eight-sided, but the herringbone pattern of the lead slates trick the eye into seeing 16 sides from the ground. The spire is open for guided tours throughout the day; the church, the largest in Derbyshire, is open all year, Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm (9am to 3pm January and February), and Sundays at service times only.

The church itself is also impressive since it is the largest in Derbyshire and has seen Civil War, fire, revolution and World Wars, but it still survives as a symbol of Chesterfield.

Opposite the church is Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery. The museum is home to exhibitions depicting the story of the town, from the arrival of the Romans to the first days of the market town, the industry of the 18th century and the coming of the ‘father of the railways’, George Stephenson. Take a look round the Art Gallery as well, where the works of local artist, Joseph Syddall, are on show (Syddall lived at nearby Whittington).

Perhaps surprisingly, Chesterfield is home to one of the earliest canals in the country, the Chesterfield Canal. The canal was surveyed by James Brindley and linked the town to the River Trent. At the cutting edge of technology in its day, it had the longest tunnel in the country at Norwood, and one of the first multiple staircase lock flights. It was 2,884 yards long, 9 feet 3 inches wide and 12 feet high. The entire canal was officially opened in 1777.

 All the working boats on the Chesterfield Canal were horse-drawn until, by 1962, virtually all the boat traffic had gone. The whole length of the canal is in the process of restoration and is open to walkers and, though some sections border onto busy roads, much of the waterway runs through quiet and secluded countryside. The Chesterfield Canal Trust runs boat trips on the canal, and one of their two boats has wheelchair access.

Apart from the famous Crooked Spire and medieval market, Chesterfield is also worthy of note for Queen’s Park, the Tapton Lock Visitor Centre (where you can go for a ride on a narrow boat), the Pomegrante Theatre, the Winding Wheel Concert and Exhibition Centre and The Revolution House (see Whittington). The fine Queen’s Park has delighted locals and visitors alike since it was opened to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, in 1893. There are gardens, a boating lake, children’s play area, Victorian Bandstand and occasionally it is used for county cricket. The Pomegranate is a Grade II listed Victorian 546-seater proscenium arch theatre offering a wide range of professional touring and local amateur productions. The Winding Wheel is a Grade II listed building situated on the edge of the town centre; a former cinema, it was restored in the late 1980s by Chesterfield Borough Council to provide a much-needed multi-purpose venue. The venue plays host to many of Chesterfield’s popular exhibitions and shows, such as the annual fashion show put together by students from Chesterfield College. To find out more about the attractions in and around Chesterfield, the Tourist Information Centre can be found in a new building, beside the church in Rykneld Way. It is open all year, Monday to Saturday.

Finally, although the custom of tap-dressing took place in Chesterfield in the 19th century, it was not until 1991 that the tradition, this time of well-dressing, was revived. Initially with help from local experts from Holymoorside, the Chesterfield dressers are developing their own styles and customs.