Chesterfield

Sister cities

• Troyes
• Darmstadt
• Tsumeb
• Yangquan

History

Chesterfield was in the Hundred of Scarsdale. The town received its market charter in 1204 from King John, which constituted the town as a free borough, granting the burgesses of Chesterfield the privileges of those of Nottingham and Derby. Elizabeth I granted a charter in either 1594 or 1598, This remained its charter until the borough was reshaped under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. It originally consisted only of the township of Chesterfield but absorbed some surrounding townships in 1892. There was a major extension when the borough absorbed New Whittington and Newbold urban district in 1920. Chesterfield's current boundaries date from 1 April 1974, when the Borough of Chesterfield was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 by amalgamating the municipal borough of Chesterfield, the urban district of Staveley and the parish of Brimington from Chesterfield Rural District. Chesterfield benefitted much from the building of the Chesterfield Line – part of the Derby to Leeds railway (North Midland Line) begun in 1837 by George Stephenson. During the work, a sizeable seam of coal was discovered while the Clay Cross Tunnel was constructed. George then founded the Clay Cross company producing coal, iron ore, and limestone. During his time in Chesterfield, Stephenson lived at Tapton House, remaining there until his death in 1848. He is interred in Trinity Church. A statue of him was erected outside Chesterfield railway station in 2006. The population in 1841 was 6,212 inhabitants.

Geography

Chesterfield lies at the confluence of the River Rother and River Hipper at the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfield, in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is sometimes described as the "Gateway to the Peak", with the Peak District National Park to the west of the town. Nearby areas of the South and West Yorkshire Green Belt can serve to block urban sprawl. Other local greenfield frameworks include "strategic gaps" to maintain the openness and landscape qualities of large open areas, and "green wedges" penetrating urban areas with recreational facilities. The wider Chesterfield Urban Area had a population of 112,664 at the 2021 Census, this included the town of Chesterfield along with its surrounding suburbs and the outlying villages and towns of Wingerworth, Staveley, Cutthorpe and Holymoorside.

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  10,788
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,203
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  9,871
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  9,530
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,717
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,738
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  7,530
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  7,259

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2023-06-28
  2 km SE of Cheadle, United Kingdom
• M 3.6 — 2022-05-30
  2 km ESE of Prees, United Kingdom
• M 3.2 — 2022-02-21
  5 km N of Hockley, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2015-09-22
  2 km W of Cottesmore, United Kingdom
• M 3.8 — 2015-01-28
  2 km WSW of Market Overton, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2014-10-28
  2 km NNE of Hucknall, United Kingdom