Chesterfield hosts heritage events to raise awareness of town's history

Both events will take place in September and will provide residents and visitors with an opportunity to find out more about the past of the town.

The project is a part of the National Heritage Open Days scheme, an annual festival of history and culture.

Held in September, the festival consists of various free events hosted in different cities across England.

This year national Heritage Open Days run between Friday, September 9 and Sunday, September 19 and include two events hosted in Chesterfield.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “With the closure of Chesterfield Museum, for the multi-million-pound renovation of Stephenson Memorial Hall, it is important that we offer excellent opportunities for everyone to learn more about our local history.

“It’s great to be taking part in the national Heritage Open Days and I hope lots of people will take on this unique opportunity to learn more about local history.”

First of the events will be hosted at 11am on Saturday, September 10 at Unit 1 Calow Brook Drive, Off Calow Lane.

It will provide an opportunity to explore one of the Chesterfield Museum’s off-site stores.

This will include some of the larger items from the Museum’s collection that are not normally on display.

Additionally, the Museum's Collections Officer will explain how the museum looks after the items within its care and the challenges involved.

The following weekend there’s a meeting with Sir Joseph Paxton - gardener, architect, engineer and reenactor at Revolution House.

The event will run on Sunday, September 18 between 11am. and 4pm at Revolution House in Old Whittington - a public museum with a display of seventeenth century furniture and learning material on the Revolution of 1688.

Apart from the talk, there will also be a hands-on activities for children to plant their own seeds.

None of the events require booking and both are free to attend.

Outside of Chesterfield, more activities will be held in Derbyshire as a part of the national Heritage Open Days.