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History and Heritage
There’s so much history and heritage to see in Chesterfield Area that you’re really spoilt for choice. Here are just a few of the highlights.
History is alive in our stately homes. Chatsworth, the ‘Palace of the Peak’ that has been so much extended and altered that its Elizabethan roots are hidden from view. Renishaw Hall with its beautiful Italianate gardens. The height of Elizabethan fascination with symmetry and glass at Hardwick. Bolsover Castle, a castle in name only but in fact a fairy-tale mansion once visited by King Charles I. Sutton Scarsdale Hall built to rival Chatsworth but now a dramatic hillside ruin.
History in Chesterfield Area goes even further back, more than 12,000 years ago to the Ice Age when Stone Age people fought for survival. The limestone crags at Creswell, honeycombed with caves, made popular camping sites for our ancient ancestors who came to hunt mammoth, bison and reindeer. But they left us more than their ivory and stone tools, they left us art – paintings and even engravings decorate the walls of caves deep inside the crags.
History is alive in our Museums. Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre is bigger and better following a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. There’s more to see at Britain’s last surviving working Roundhouse with its new exhibition, café and shop, plus a feature on science and engineering and interactive displays for families.
Chesterfield Museum is currently closed ahead of plans to refurbish and reimagine the Stephenson Memorial Hall, which is home to both the Museum and the Pomegranate Theatre. We will be offering a 'Museum on the Move' programme during our closure so check our What's On pages for more information.
The only question now is how many days do you need to stay to explore it all?
