Chesterfield in glass

In 1984 St Mary and All Saint’s Church, Chesterfield celebrated being 750 years old with a new window depicting the history of Chesterfield from the eleventh century onwards. It begins by depicting the Battle of Chesterfield in 1266 between Henry of Almain, the nephew of King Henry III, and Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby all the way through to mines at Clay Cross, the Midland Railway Station and one of George Stephenson’s locomotives. He made his home at Tapton House.

Incidentally, St Mary’s and All Saints is the largest church in Derbyshire, famous for its twisted spire – the result of inexperienced workmen using green wood in the aftermath of the Black Death of 1348. The spire’s wooden skeleton sits on top of the church’s tower – weight is the only thing that holds it in place (or it least it was when I went up there many many years ago). George Stephenson is buried at Holy Trinity Church, Newbold Road (pictured with the locomotive) and is said to haunt Tapton House. I don’t know about that but there is a fine statue of him holding a model of The Rocket outside Chesterfield’s railway station.

One thought on “Chesterfield in glass”

  1. Enjoy these short stories. Hope to see more of them in 2024.
    Robert was the husband of my 22nd great aunt Eleanor de Bohun.

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