Chesterfield and Papplewick Hall
Window in Chesterfield Parish Church
The distinctive spire of Chesterfield's Parish Church has become the symbol of the town. Here it is seen in a window installed in 1984 to mark the 750th anniversary of the building.
Sunday, 14th June 2015
Despite disappointing weather (fluctuating from rain to drizzle) our visit to Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire proved very worthwhile. The coach from Pearsons was filled to capacity; but we arrived with plenty of time to spare. The streets of Chesterfield display an interesting mix of Georgian, Victorian and neoGeorgian architecture. The Town Hall, built in 1938 by the architects Bradshaw Gass & Hope, proved to be a surprisingly refined piece of work. We were given a guided tour of the parish church after which three of us elected to take a tour of the tower, culminating at the parapet below the famous twisted spire. At Papplewick Hall we were given a tour by Mr Goodwin-Austin, whose family bought and restored the house in the 1980s. The interiors of the present house, completed in 1786, are in the refined neoclassical style of the period. The main staircase is a curved, cantilevered design with a landing constructed of huge stone slabs.
Church of St Mary and All Saints, Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Chesterfield's parish church dates mainly from the late fourteenth century. The lack of skilled craftsmen at this time, caused by the Black Death, is sometimes given as the reason for the structural problems which resulted in the extraordinary twisting of the spire ; however this is now thought to have been caused by the weight of the lead on ... (read more...)
Papplewick Hall, Nottinghamshire
Completed in the 1780s for the Hon. Frederick Montague, Pappelwick Hall is now a Grade I listed country. Probably designed by William Lindley of Doncaster, the house has the elegant simplicity, without severity, of the best Georgian design. The exterior is nearly cubic, with a partially rusticated basement and ionic pilasters embracing the upper floors. The interiors have plaster ... (read more...)
Chesterfield Town Hall
Chesterfield Parish Church.
Papplewick Hall in 2015.
