Chesterfield factfile

How to get to Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town in the county of Derbyshire. It is easily accessible from the M1 motorway, which provides road links to the north and south of the country, and the town has direct rail services to London. Chesterfield's nearest airport is East Midlands airport.

Shopping in Chesterfield
Dating back to the Middle Ages, Chesterfield's market tradition continues today with a variety of lively and colourful markets taking place in the town on a regular basis. About 250 stalls can still be found in the town centre every Monday, Friday and Saturday, as well as a flea market on Thursdays selling antiques and bric-a-brac.

There is also a farmers' market on the second Thursday of each month, where you can find produce from North Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire. For anyone looking for high-street names and designer fashion, the redevelopment of the Vicar Lane area of town has created a large and comprehensive open-air pedestrianised shopping zone.

Famous landmarks in Chesterfied
Chesterfield is probably best known for the crooked spire of the parish church of St Mary and All Saints. Theories abound as to why the spire is so crooked—unusually, it is both twisted and leaning, twisting 45 degrees and leaning 9 ft 6 in off its true centre. The most likely explanation is simply that there was a lack of skilled craftsmen in the wake of the Black Death, and that inadequate cross-bracing and the use of unseasoned timber in its construction have given the spire its unique shape.

Arts and culture in Chesterfield
Chesterfield has its own museum which explores the town's history, located on St Mary's Gate. The town's Pomegranate Theatre is a grade-2 listed Victorian theatre which offers a year-round programme of professional touring and local amateur productions, as well as local music events and craft demonstrations.

Famous people from Chesterfield
Well-known faces from Chesterfield include Paul Burrell, former butler to Princess Diana, politician Barbara Castle, and actors John Hurt and Jeremy Kemp. From 1984 until his retirement from politics in 2001, the town was represented in Parliament by veteran socialist and grand old man of British politics Tony Benn.

Chesterfield's claim to fame
Chesterfield hosted the first ever gluten-free beer festival in February 2006.