Introduction

Welcome to the Chronology of Chesterfield’s History section of our website. Following this introduction you will find links to our chronology sections, each looking at various periods in our town’s history.

At the end of this introduction page you will find a list of sources used over the entire chronicle.

(You can skip this introduction and go to the first of our chronology pages by clicking here)

Chesterfield parish church from the Rev George Hall’s 1823 History of Chesterfield. Our chronology will address some hereto incorrect assumptions that have been made about the church’s early history.

About this chronology

A chronology of Chesterfield’s history was originally published on our website in 2017. The ‘bones’ of it used Ford’s History of Chesterfield (1839) and especially TP Wood’s Almanac, (various dates, until 1963).

Both the Ford and Wood publications included a local chronicle of events, but the early history in both of them is now somewhat flawed. For example, at the time they were published, they could not to take into account the discovery of Roman fort(s) in the town and more recent research into the area’s post-Domesday history. Later history, as chronicled by TP Wood, has also largely ignored, amongst others, the growth of industry in and around the town.

To try and address this. we have recently completely revised section 1 – pre-history to 1599 and are currently working behind the scenes to revise and update the further sections.

Assistance on the current either published or unpublished and in progress draft revisions has been received by Philip Cousins, Janet Murphy and Philip Riden.

Our account is necessarily selective, as is, perhaps, all ‘chronology by numbers’. But, unlike some websites, we are aiming to make our pages authoritative, so that anyone interested in the history of Chesterfield might find our chronology a useful starting point. We won’t, though, be able to cover in any great detail, smaller industries, public houses, shops, retail businesses and individuals.

If you feel something is missing or incorrect, please contact us.

Click on the links below to take you to our chronology sections

1 – Early History to 1599 (This section has been thoroughly revised and was first published in July 2023)

2 – 1600 to 1799 (This section was last revised in March 2023 – but we are working on a completely new revision).

3 – 1800 to 1899 (This section was last revised in March 2023).

4 – 1900 to 1999 (This section was last revised in March 2023)

5 – 2000 onwards. (This section is not substantially populated).

Sources we have used in compiling this chronology

Below is an alphabetical list of the sources we have used in this chronology. As we revise our chronology other sources that we have used will be added. Further information on any of the subjects covered in our chronology can be found in the publications listed below.

For any serious study of the town we would particularly recommend:

The various volumes of Chesterfield Borough Council’s sponsored History of Chesterfield series (published from 1974 onwards)
Philip Riden, A history of Chesterfield grammar school (2017)
Philip Riden and Chris Leteve, Chesterfield Streets and Houses (2019).

You’ll also find history blogs published on this, our website, alongside our local history papers, past journals and other publications. The Derbyshire Victoria County History Trust also publish blogs about the town’s history on their website.

Trade directories

White’s Directory of Derbyshire 1857.

Bagshaw’s Directory of Derbyshire 1846.

Bulmer’s Directory of Derbyshire 1895.

Kelly’s Directory of Derbyshire 1941.

A-Z of published sources used

JM Bestall, History of Chesterfield, volume I, early and Medieval Chesterfield (1974).

JM Bestall and DV Fowkes, History of Chesterfield, volume III, early Victorian Chesterfield (1984).

JM Bestall and DV Fowkes, History of Chesterfield, volume II, part 2 Restoration and Georgian Chesterfield (1978).

DF Botham, Ragged School Chesterfield (1998).

Brampton Congregational Church, Jubilee 1873-1923 (1923).

The British Library, Bibliography of British newspapers (1987).

Chesterfield parish church, The bells of Chesterfield parish church (n.d.).

Chesterfield Baptist Church, Triple gold 1861-2011 (2011).

Chesterfield shopping festival official souvenir booklet (1914).

Chesterfield Corporation, Commercial Chesterfield (1931).

Chesterfield Church of the Annunciation: A celebration of 150 years, 1854-2004 (2004).

IAH Combes, Anglican churches of Derbyshire (2004).

R Cooper, Book of Chesterfield (1977).

JC Cox, Churches of Derbyshire, volume one (1875).

[Derbyshire Courier] Chesterfield Year Book and Directory of 1913 and 1921.

T Dilworth-Harrison, Chesterfield parish church. A diary of events in English history (rev ed 1963).

J Fawbert, Notes on the Christadelphian Hall, prepared in connection with an exhibition held there in September 2018.

AJ Hallam, Church of St Mary and All Saints, Chesterfield (1998).

P Halls and GA Dawson, Church bells of Derbyshire, part three (2000).

CR Hart, North Derbyshire archaeological survey to AD 1500 (1981).

W Hawskley Edmunds, The crooked spire of Chesterfield. How it was saved from destruction by fire (rev ed 1964).

A Harrow, Story of a church: St Andrew’s United Reformed Church, Newbold, Chesterfield (n.d.).

D Hey (ed), Oxford companion to local and family history (1998).

J Hirst, Brampton Brewery. The story of the original Brampton Brewery Co Ltd, Chesterfield (2011 & 2018).

J Hirst, Chesterfield breweries (1991).

J Hirst, Chesterfield Brewery. The story of Chesterfield’s second largest brewery (2021).

Holy Trinity Church, Chesterfield [history] (c. 2004).

AR Marshall and H Newbould, History of Firth’s (1925).

D Miller, Chesterfield corps of the Salvation Army, a pictorial history (2017).

GR Micklewright (editor) Chesterfield and district story (1950).

M Patterson, Roman Derbyshire (2016).

P Riden, History of Chesterfield, volume II part I – Tudor and Stuart Chesterfield (1984).

P Riden, History of Chesterfield grammar school (2017).

P Riden and J Blair, History of Chesterfield, volume V – records of the brough of Chesterfield and related documents 1204-1835 (1980).

P Riden and C Leteve, Chesterfield Streets and Houses (2019).

P Riden and D Fowkes, Derbyshire turnpike road and bridge trusts 1724-1896 (2019).

DW Robson and AW Vallance, History of Elder Yard Chapel, Chesterfield (1967).

Rosehill United Reform Church, Chesterfield [leaflet] (2022).

SS Augustine of Canterbury and Hippo, Chesterfield golden jubilee booklet 1930-1980 (1980).

Storrs Road Methodist Church, A century of witness (2000).

C Townsend, The Gospel Mission 1906-2006, the people’s story (2006).

Contemporary newspaper reports.

To part 1 – Early History to 1599 of our chronology.

This page was last updated on 15 July 2023.