Chesterfield & District Local History SocietyOne of our recent newsletters focusses on George Yeldham Ricketts (who was later known as George Yeldham Wilkinson) and his part in the history of the Tapton House estate. Think of Tapton House and most people are aware of George Stephenson and the Markham family but fewer know about Ricketts. Now, thanks to new research, […]
In this post we look at the history the former courthouse near the railway station, on Brimington Road and Malkin Street, which is currently (28 January 2024) being demolished. The building is to be replaced by a temporary car park until some form of firm proposals are developed for its replacement. Latterly part used by […]
In this post we take a look at a largely and perhaps surprisingly unmarked event – the great changes to local government across England and Wales which occurred on 1 April 1974. We’ll focus particularly on the Chesterfield area. The pattern of local government Until April 1974 the pattern of local government in England had […]
Our latest Cestrefeld Journal (number 9) has just been published. It contains the usual varied content (see front cover photo below) and it’s priced at £6 (£3 for members) for 38 pages. You can pick up a copy at our meetings or contact us on how to obtain a copy by post – secretary@cadlhs.org.uk.
In this post we highlight the end of an era for coal by rail through Chesterfield which occurred in late June 2024. In a September 2023 post we highlighted the probable end of the transportation of coal for power generation along the Midland Mainline. Now that has actually occurred, with a journey from Doncaster to […]
We had a great time at the Festival of Archaeology day on Sunday 28 July at Hardwick Hall. Our exhibition stand was about Roman Chesterfield. Compiled by Janet Murphy, it highlighted just some of the archaeological excavations carried out around the town centre, but how a really coherent study of these is still awaited. Some […]
We are very sorry to report the death of David Howes, aged 84, which occurred at the beginning of August. David was a great supporter of CADLHS. A frequent speaker at our meetings until a few years ago, he will be remembered for his knowledge, particularly relating to shops and businesses of old Chesterfield. He […]
Our Chairman David McPhie writes. Last year I did an illustrated talk for CADLHS on ‘100 Years of Chesterfield Music,’ but quite seriously over-ran my allotted time span, covering the early Dance Band years of the 1920s, 30s and 40s, the Queens Park Hotel Folk Clubs during both Roger Buck and Graham Blankley’s eras, my […]
Our talk on the evening of July 21st 2025 will be given by Andrew Littlewood on ‘Thornes of Leeds – A Chesterfield Story.’ Thornes of Leeds were once a leading confectionary manufacturer, but they also have a direct link with a Edward Woodhead a former Chesterfield Mayor and prominent local grocer (who had well-known shop on […]