Author: Philip Cousins

  • Blue Plaque Update

    1 – Rose Hill United Reformed Church We unveiled the latest of our blue plaques at Rose Hill United Reformed Church on Thursday 13 July. The plaque has been kindly sponsored by the congregation. Sadly, the chapel is now in the process of closure, with the future of the building remaining uncertain. We understand it…

  • Revitalising Chesterfield town centre

    We are taking another look at the problems, issues and challenges our town centre in Chesterfield has in this post. ‘Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield’ Several weeks ago the Civic Society was invited to take part in a walkover of the town centre as part of a scheme to improve the ‘public realm’ between the…

  • Tapton House Update

    In this post we look at recent developments involving the company currently the favourite to pick-up the long lease to Tapton House from Chesterfield Borough Council. Nothing further has been made public concerning the Borough Council’s proposed sale of a long lease of Tapton House to Stone Castle Enterprise Ltd, although those concerned with the…

  • Blue Plaque News

    One new blue plaque is currently in production, with two more planned. Our blue plaque for the United Reformed church at Rose Hill is now in production at the manufacturers Leander. We have been promised delivery in early June, but we don’t yet have an unveiling date. The two other plaques we currently have in…

  • Good news as repairs to historic properties commence

    Although these are only minor repairs, it is good to see that work appears to have started on the former Baptist Chapel, Brewery Street wall – particularly as it’s on our ‘unloved and heritage buildings at risk’ list. At the beginning of 2022 the boundary wall was damaged following collision with a road vehicle –…

  • Sad news as Rose Hill Church to Close

    Within the last few weeks has come the very sad news that the United Reformed Church (URC) on Rose Hill is to close. Serious defects have been discovered in the roof, which the congregation lack the resources to tackle. Closure this year Like most churches, Rose Hill has an ageing congregation which is declining in…

  • A future for Cannon Mill

    After a long period in which no-one has come up with any ideas and the building was clearly deteriorating, a proposal has now emerged for the re-use of Cannon Mill, which we welcome. This is a grade II listed building owned by Robinsons, which stands at the southern end of their Walton site. It was…

  • ‘Winding Wheel’ is our latest plaque

    Chesterfield’s Grade II listed Winding Wheel, Holywell Street, is the latest building highlighted in our series of blue plaques. It was unveiled on Wednesday 1 March 2023 by the Mayor of Chesterfield Councillor Tony Rogers. The venue – now owned by the Chesterfield Borough Council was originally opened as ‘The Picture House’ in 1923, before…

  • Capacity audience for rethinking event

    Many thanks to all those who attended our meeting on rethinking Chesterfield town centre on Monday 27 February and, of course, to our speakers. An interesting range of initiatives were explained with a good range of questions taken. We’ll be posting more about this in the coming weeks, including what our next steps will be.

  • Our town centre meeting is tonight

    Don’t forget it’s our meeting tonight (27 February) to start the discussion on whether we should have a rethink of our existing town centre. Foremost we want to start the debate about the town centre’s future. This isn’t meant to trample on anyone’s feet – as we are sure that, for example, politicians from all…