Heritage Open Days will see 12 sites welcome visitors on various days between September 9 and 18 in an event which has been arranged by Chesterfield and District Civic Society as the town’s contribution to a national celebration.
The locations include Ss Augustine’s church on Derby Road, described by the society’s chairman Philip Riden as “probably the most spectacular modern church in the town” and Chesterfield Football Club’s stadium.
Philip said: “The Heritage Open Days is a good way of encouraging more people to visit Chesterfield and spend time and money in the town – as the borough council is keen to do as part of its tourism strategy.
"Heritage Open Days in Chesterfield shows that the town has a lot to offer visitors, even though people don’t always think of it as an obvious tourist destination.”
Individuals and venues who are opening their doors to support the event have been thanked by the civic society. Philip added: “The civic society is hoping that the success of this year’s Heritage Open Days will encourage more places to open next year.”
Opening times, together with details of historic buildings elsewhere in Derbyshire that are taking part in Heritage Open Days, are available on the website: www.chesterfieldcivicsociety.org.uk/heritage-open-days.
Established in 1994, Heritage Open Days is England’s contribution to a Europe-wide movement aimed at encouraging more people to visit buildings and other places of historic
interest, especially those not normally open to the public.
Co-ordinated nationally by the National Trust, the scheme depends on volunteers in every community who come together to promote the event every year.
This year’s theme is Astounding Inventions – offering a celebration of the cutting-edge creations that make our lives easier as well as the imaginative inventors behind them.
Heritage Open Days is supported by the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery. Laura Chow, head of charities at People's Postcode Lottery, said: “In supporting the festival this year, our players are helping bring communities together to share the stories of the people, places, and spaces important to them.”
1. St John the Evangelist Church, Newbold
St John’s was opened in 1857, mainly to serve the growing working-class population of Whittington Moor (the western half of which lay in Newbold), but was built in the wealthier rural part of the parish. The church was extended in 1957 with the addition of wide aisles on either side of the nave, as attendance grew following the building of large housing estates in Newbold after the Second World War. A new parish hall was added on the north side of the church in 1989. Commonly known as Newbold Parish Church, the building will be open to the public on September 10 and 17. Photo: Google
2. Holy Trinity Church, Newbold
The second suburban church to be built in Chesterfield, Holy Trinity was consecrated in 1838 and served the middle class community that was then growing up along Newbold Road, Sheffield Road and new roads laid out between them, of which Abercrombie Street was the first. The church stands in a large burial ground where the famous railway engineer George Stephenson, who lived at Tapton House, is buried. As well as a monument over George's grave, the church contains a memorial window given by his son Robert. Holy Trinity Church will be open to the public on September 10 and 17. Photo: Submitted
3. Elder Yard Unitarian Chapel
The oldest surviving nonconformist place of worship in Chesterfield, Elder Yard chapel dates from 1694 and was originally the only meeting place for Protestant Dissenters in the town apart from the Quakers. In the 18th century the building was shared by Congregationalists and Independents, who later built their own chapels, and since the early 19th century Elder Yard has been the home of a Unitarian congregation. The congregation once had a Sunday school on Saltergate in a building which is now occupied by shops and a children's nursery. The chapel will be open to the public on September 9, 10 and 11. Photo: Google
4. Ragged School
Founded in 1878 by members of Soresby Street Congregational Church, the Ragged School took over premises first built as a lace factory, one of many such workshops erected in the yards behind Low Pavement. Ragged schools were Sunday schools opened in poor districts, such as the slums in this part of Chesterfield. No fees were charged and the school relied on the generosity of wealthy townspeople. The school acquired a new frontage when Markham Road was built in 1911. Now a non-denominational Evangelical chapel, the Ragged School will be open to the public on September 10, 11 and 18. Photo: Google