Home > Chesterfield, Derbyshire

For other locations with this name, see ChesterfieldChesterfield is the name of a town in Derbyshire, England It is also a placename in the United States of America: Chesterfield, Idaho Chesterfield, Massachusetts Chesterfield, Michigan Chesterfield, Missouri Chesterfield, New Hampshire Chesterfield, New Y.

Chesterfield is a market town and district in Derbyshire, a countyOriginally, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count (in Great Britain, an earl, though the original earldoms covered larger areas) by reason of that office. The term has since tended to represent a tertiary geographical unit of administrat in EnglandEngland is the largest, the most populous, and the most densely populated of the four " Home Nations" which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). Occupying the south-eastern portion of the island of Great Britain, England. It lies south of SheffieldThis article is about the city in England. For other uses see Sheffield. Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in the north of England. The population of the City of Sheffield in 2002 was estimated at 512,242. It has grown, from its industrial root, on a confluence of the rivers RotherThe River Rother is a river in the northern midlands of England, after which the town of Rotherham and the Rother Valley constituency are named. Its source is near Clay Cross in Derbyshire, and from there it flows northwards through North Wingfield, Danes and Hipper , and has a population of approximately 100,000. It is located at 53°34' North, 1°25' West.

It received its market charter in the year 1204 from King John.

Chesterfield benefitted 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 sizable seam of coal was discovered. This and the local ironstone were promptly exploited by Stephenson who set up a company to trade in the minerals.

During his time in Chesterfield, Stephenson lived at Tapton House, and remained there in his retirement. He is interred in Trinity Church.

Chesterfield is perhaps best known for the 'crooked spire' of its Church of Saint Mary and All Saints. The twisted spire leans 9 feet 5 inches from its true centre. The twisting is probably the result of unseasoned timbers or insufficient cross-bracing, although there are 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. Another is that a Bolsover blacksmith mis-shoed the Devil, who leaped over the spire in pain, knocking it out of shape.

The Channel Tunnel between England and France used boring machines manufactured in Chesterfield by the company Markham & Co., which sadly no longer exists in the town.

Chesterfield is twinned with:

• Darmstadt in Germany
• Troyes in Northern France
• Yangquan in the Shanxi province of China
• Tsumeb in Namibia.