Chesterfield

Chesterfield is a market town in Derbyshire in the English Midlands, with a population of 76,402 in 2021. It's best known for it's "leaning spire", the twisted spire of St Mary's Church, but its chief attraction a few miles southeast is Hardwick Hall. It's also a good base for exploring the Peak District to the west.

Understand
The name "Chester" means a Roman camp, but there's no trace of it - presumably it's somewhere under a field, if only you could find a field. It was probably just a "marching camp" or similar temporary structure. Until the Middle Ages, Chesterfield was a hamlet and tract of farmland within the village of Newbold, which according to the Domesday Book had "six carucates and one bovate to the geld...there the king has 16 villans and one slave." Chesterfield market traded in local wool, leather and farm produce, plus salt from Cheshire.

All the area's villages grew from the 18th century with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, but Chesterfield outstripped them to become the main town. There were extensive coalfields, part of the Yorks-Derby-Notts "coal triangle" laid down in a long-ago swamp, and iron ores. The canal improved transport but even better was the railway, built by Stephenson from 1837. And while building it, he happened upon more coal deposits, which made him a rich man. He's buried in Holy Trinity: you could hardly bury this excellent engineer at St Mary's, which already by his day had taken on its distinctive skew-wiff.

Heavy industry collapsed in the late 20th century, precipitated by the miners' strike of 1985. The colliery sites felt derelict then were re-landscaped, to disappear as completely as the Roman camp. There was a move to light and service industries and today the largest employer is Royal Mail, who base their admin and pensions here.

Crooked Chesterfield
Chesterfield's most-recognisable landmark, clearly seen from any train passing by the town on the Sheffield to London mainline, is the crooked spire of St Mary's and All Saints Church. It was constructed in 1362, to sit atop a tower built earlier in the century. Although it was built straight, the spire has been both twisted and leaning for many hundreds of years, evidenced in the rich local folklore around the church. One story was that the Devil himself was seated one day on the church, with his tail wrapped around the spire, intent on causing mischief to the town. The townspeople bandied together to ring the church bells, which startled the Devil so much that he jumped and fled, with his swishing tail causing the spire to twist in its wake. Another less favourable estimation of Chesterfielders holds that a virgin once married in the church, and the church was so surprised that it craned its spire around to take a look at the bride. Should a virgin ever again marry in St Mary's Church, the spire will right itself!

The first attempt at an actual historical explanation for the spire's odd shape states that since it was constructed in the wake of the Black Death (bubonic plague), there must have been a lack of skilled craftsmen on hand to complete such a delicate job. The theory holds that a bunch of idiot builders simply bodged it, using the wrong kind of wood and poor techniques. This theory was added to at a later date by claims that the lead tiling that covers the spire twists because of a heat discrepancy when the sun is shining on one side and not the other. As for why this doesn't affect other church spires in the area is unknown; maybe the tales of clumsy devils and rarer-than-hen's-teeth virgins really are true.

By road
From the south take M1 to junction 29 then A617. From the north, junction 30 onto A619 is shorter but this road drags through a series of villages, it's generally quicker to stay on M1 to junction 29. From Sheffield follow A61 south.

Lots of town centre parking, for instance, the multi-storey by the bus station.

By bus
National Express NX560 runs four times a day from London Victoria, taking 3 hr 30 min and continuing to Sheffield.

Stagecoach Bus X17 runs every 30 min from Barnsley via Meadowhall and Sheffield, and continues to Matlock, Cromford and Wirksworth in the Peak District.

Bus 43 / 44 is a slower route every 20 min, taking 80 min from Sheffield via Dronfield, Newbold and Old Whittington. Bus 77 runs from Worksop every 30 min via Staveley.

Pronto Bus runs every 30 min from Nottingham, taking 1 hr 40 min via Mansfield.

Trentbarton Comet runs hourly from Derby, taking 1 hour 15 mins via Ripley, Alfreton and Clay Cross.

is on Beckinsale Way off A619 Markham Rd.

Get around
The town is compact and walkable, but you need wheels to explore the surroundings and get into the Peak District. Pronto Bus to Mansfield drops you two miles north of Hardwick Hall.

Taxi firms are Central Cars (+44 1246 200500), A-Line (+44 1246 555555) and Door2Door (+44 1246 202020).

See

 * Chesterfield Museum opposite the church is closed for rebuilding. The new space, opening late 2025, will incorporate Pomegranate Theatre.
 * The Shambles are medieval alleyways just north of the bus station. Historically a place called "shambles" was the slaughterhouse and butchers' area, probably from Anglo-Saxon fleshammels, the benches or shelves where they displayed their wares. The word came to mean any horrible mess.
 * , completed in 1870, is a chapel-sized building at 91 Sheffield Rd, part of Holy Trinity parish.
 * starts from the River Rother near Tapton Park. It's a narrow-boat canal, max beam 7 ft 0 in / 2.13 m, and when completed in 1777 it ran 46 miles to the Trent at West Stockwith, exporting the town's iron ore. In 1906 mining subsidence collapsed Norwood Tunnel and severed the canal. The local section has been restored as far as Staveley and there's a footpath the full 46 miles, but completing the missing nine miles to the restored eastern section remains an aspiration.
 * the last residence of George Stephenson is now a business centre, but the park and gardens are free to access 24 hours.
 * is late Saxon, a time when Newbold was a larger village than Chesterfield. It became the Eyre family chapel and vault, Roman Catholic, and was sacked by a Protestant mob in the 1680s. It's now the village hall.
 * is a pleasant green space south bank of the River Hipper, reached by a footbridge from town centre. The cricket ground occasionally hosts games by Derbyshire CCC but their usual ground is in Derby.
 * is late Saxon, a time when Newbold was a larger village than Chesterfield. It became the Eyre family chapel and vault, Roman Catholic, and was sacked by a Protestant mob in the 1680s. It's now the village hall.
 * is a pleasant green space south bank of the River Hipper, reached by a footbridge from town centre. The cricket ground occasionally hosts games by Derbyshire CCC but their usual ground is in Derby.

Do

 * Winding Wheel is a larger performance space 100 yards west at 13 Holywell St.
 * Cineworld is on Alma Leisure Park off A61 Derby Rd.
 * Golf courses are Chesterfield GC, Tapton Park, South Chesterfield and Stanedge GC.
 * Cineworld is on Alma Leisure Park off A61 Derby Rd.
 * Golf courses are Chesterfield GC, Tapton Park, South Chesterfield and Stanedge GC.

Buy

 * The Yards is an alley east side of the Pavements, traditionally lined with small independent shops, but in 2024 looking sad and deserted.
 * The Yards is an alley east side of the Pavements, traditionally lined with small independent shops, but in 2024 looking sad and deserted.
 * The Yards is an alley east side of the Pavements, traditionally lined with small independent shops, but in 2024 looking sad and deserted.

Eat

 * Filippelli's Bistro is trad filling grub at 9 Glumangate behind the Odyssey, open M-Sa 8AM-3PM.
 * Indian Blues is no better than okay. It's at 7 Corporation St by the crooked spire, open daily 6-11PM.
 * Ashoka gets better reviews. It's a short way west at 19 Holywell St, open daily 5-11PM.
 * Filippelli's Bistro is trad filling grub at 9 Glumangate behind the Odyssey, open M-Sa 8AM-3PM.
 * Indian Blues is no better than okay. It's at 7 Corporation St by the crooked spire, open daily 6-11PM.
 * Ashoka gets better reviews. It's a short way west at 19 Holywell St, open daily 5-11PM.
 * Ashoka gets better reviews. It's a short way west at 19 Holywell St, open daily 5-11PM.

Drink

 * Burlington just south of the crooked spire gets rotten reviews.
 * The Hidden Knight likewise has good food. It's just north of Market Bar at 18 Soresby St, open M Tu 11:30AM-7PM, W-Sa 11:30AM-10PM, Su noon-4PM.
 * Portland Hotel is a JD Wetherspoon with rooms on West Bars.
 * Portland Hotel is a JD Wetherspoon with rooms on West Bars.

Connect
As of March 2024, Chesterfield and its approach roads have 5G from all UK carriers.

Go next

 * Chatsworth House is ten miles west near Bakewell in the Peak District.
 * Go hiking in the attractive Peak District.
 * The city of Sheffield is 13 miles north.