Chesterfield: Club History
Chesterfield dates its formation to 1866, making it the fourth oldest club currently operating in the top five English divisions. They played at what was officially The Recreation Ground, but almost universally known as Saltergate, continuously from 1871 before moving into a new ground in 2010. In the modern style of constantly changing sponsorship naming rights, it has already had three different titles: starting as b2net Stadium; then becoming Proact Stadium; now Technique Stadium (do keep up).
Called Chesterfield Town at that time, they didn’t make it into the English Football League until 1899 when they were elected to Division Two. These were mainly years of struggle, with frequent re-elections, until they were replaced in 1909 in a straight swop with Lincoln City from the Midland League. During the First World War they resigned from the Midland League and closed down, only returning in 1919 as Chesterfield Municipal. They were Midland League Champions in 1919-20 and dropped the ‘Municipal’, thereafter to be known as simply Chesterfield FC. In 1920-21 they finished third and were given one of the automatic places on the formation of the Division Three North at the end of that season.
Throughout their long time in the EFL from 1921 Chesterfield tended towards the top end of the lowest division (under whatever terminology) for extended periods, with briefer spells towards the lower end of the next division up. To be fair to them they never had to apply for re-election during this second phase in the League.
Football fans of a certain age will probably remember the club for two things. Firstly the fairy tale. In 1996-97 they got to the semi-finals of the F.A. Cup, and but for an atrocious bit of officiating would have beaten Middlesbrough and made the Final. Boro survived through extra time, and then comfortably won the replay. Secondly the disgrace. In 1999-2000 they were relegated bottom of Division Two. Their turn around seemed spectacular, as the following season they were challenging for the title. However their new owner/chairman, Darren Brown, was cheating financially, to such an extent there was a serious groundswell of opinion and moves at the AGM to expel the club from the Football League altogether. In the end it got a nine point deduction and £55,000 in fines and costs. With massive debts the club lurched into administration, with ownership passing to a fans group in the short term, Chesterfield Football Supporters Society, who battled to keep it afloat. Brown eventually received a four year prison sentence for false accounting, furnishing false information and theft.
Over the next decade, as Chesterfield recovered from the debacle, they did little on the pitch. But focus had turned to releasing the town centre property asset that was Saltergate and decamping to a new site further out. A 10,600 capacity purpose-built ‘community stadium’ that cost £13,000,000 opened in the summer of 2010. Initially the club appeared revitalised by the move. In 2010-11 they were League Two Champions; and in 2011-12 won the EFL Trophy. They continued their history of bobbing about between the lower two EFL divisions by also getting relegated in 2011-12; then returning to League One, again as League Two Champions, two seasons later. However, off the pitch another crisis was looming.
In 2016 majority shareholder Dave Allen resigned as chairman, stating that the club was up for sale and that without new investment another administration was on the cards. Within days another four directors had left the building. Almost inevitably this crisis spilled over onto the pitch. The Spireites finished 24th in League One in 2016-17 and 24th in League Two in 2017-18, crashing out of the EFL. Since then the club has changed hands again, with Chesterfield FC Community Trust eventually buying out all of Allen’s shares (with full ownership of the club completed in 2020).
Their first season in the National League saw the club flirting with a third straight relegation, languishing in 22nd at the turn of the year. Martin Allen, appointed at the start of the season, was out before it was half way through, with John Sheridan brought back for his second spell managerial at the club. A strong second half of the campaign saw them rise up the table to finish in a comfortable 14th. The truncated 2019-20 season was also one to forget, in and around the relegation zone throughout. John Sheridan paid the price, sacked at the beginning of January. Replacement Jim Pemberton did just enough to keep them up. They were 19th when the campaign was ended early; and awarded 20th after PPG calculations had been made. The 2020-21 season didn’t start much better; having lost eight of their first ten matches, by November the Trust had enough and Pemberton in turn was gone.
Pemberton’s replacement was James Rowe, a young manager in the increasing trend amongst more than a few clubs to appoint modern coaching, rather than old school managerial, expertise. Leaving the playing side early at the age of 27, he worked his way through academy coaching at several clubs, and as a technical advisor with the Premier League, before doing a Coaching Masters Degree at the Johan Cryuff Institute. There were two years as assistant at Aldershot Town before taking his first post in charge at Conference North side Gloucester City.
Well backed with a number of signings, Rowe appeared to be an astute appointment, revitalising Chesterfield up the table to the 2020-21 National League play-offs, where they eventually lost out to Notts County in the semi-finals. However, with the club going even better at the top end of the table in the 2021-22 season Rowe was suddenly suspended over allegations of unspecified “misconduct” in late January and unceremoniously departed the club a couple of weeks later.
Danny Webb stepped up from Assistant Manager to Caretaker briefly before the club turned to Paul Cook, a well known face at Chesterfield having had a successful managerial spell from 2012 to 2015 before moving on to bigger things. Cook had a successful track record in the EFL, adding to the divisional title gained at Chesterfield with further titles at Portsmouth and Wigan Athletic, until taking the job at Ipswich Town. This didn’t go so well and he was sacked after nine months. On being re-appointed at Chesterfield he stated it was the only Non-League club he would have considered… but then one’s kind of obliged to say something like that, isn’t one.
For those uncertain what Chester, the Chesterfield (can you see what they did there?!) FC mascot is, we can confirm he’s no ordinary mouse but very specifically a Field (can you see what they did there?!) Mouse.
During the first half of this season the Spireites looked as if they could be making it a three horse race in the National League along with Wrexham and Notts County, but since the turn of the year their performances have collapsed, to the extent that (at time of writing) the 10 match form guide had them in 22nd. Whether the board already saw automatic promotion becoming an unrealistic proposition or merely wanted/needed to cash in, as the EFL transfer window was about to slam shut it let Kabongo Tshimanga go on loan to Peterborough United on 31st January ahead of a permanent transfer in the summer, a seeming admission that clinging on to a play-off place was the best to be hoped for.
Chesterfield: We’ve Met Before
Previous Results for Yeovil Town First Team vs Chesterfield
| 07/01/1950 | Away | FAC3 | L | 1-3 | Mansley | ||
| 29/08/2005 | Home | EFL1 | L | 1-3 | 6079 | Alvarez 36 | |
| 04/03/2006 | Away | EFL1 | W | 3-0 | 4843 | Davies 37, 90, 90 | |
| 28/10/2006 | Away | EFL1 | D | 1-1 | 5413 | Stewart 89 | |
| 24/03/2007 | Home | EFL1 | W | 1-0 | 4735 | Jones 89 | |
| 05/11/2011 | Away | EFL1 | D | 2-2 | 5882 | Massey 29, Own Goal 76 | |
| 28/04/2012 | Home | EFL1 | W | 3-2 | 4563 | Blizzard 26, Agard 73, A Williams 80 | |
| 01/11/2014 | Away | EFL1 | D | 0-0 | 6462 | ||
| 03/04/2015 | Home | EFL1 | L | 2-3 | 4520 | Hayter 18, Foley 57 | |
| 26/09/2017 | Away | EFL2 | W | 3-2 | 3955 | Olomola 3, Khan 26, Bailey 90 | |
| 20/01/2018 | Home | EFL2 | L | 1-2 | 3792 | Wing 80 | |
| 10/12/2019 | Away | NLP | W | 2-1 | 3161 | Hippolyte 2, Murphy (pen) 24 | |
| 31/10/2020 | Home | NLP | L | 0-1 | 0 | ||
| 06/03/2021 | Away | NLP | L | 0-3 | 0 | ||
| 18/09/2021 | Home | NLP | L | 0-2 | 2356 | ||
| 26/02/2022 | Away | NLP | L | 0-1 | 5371 | ||
| 17/09/2022 | Home | NLP | D | 2-2 | 2672 | Toure 3, Staunton 80 | |
| 11/03/2023 | Away | NLP | D | 1-1 | 6893 | Law 43 | |
Results Summary For Yeovil Town First Team vs Chesterfield
| Home | Away | Overall | ||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A |
| 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 28 |
Chesterfield: Club Statistics
RECENT RESULTS
| 28/01/2023 | Barnet | Away | NLP | L | 0-3 | 2277 | ||
| 04/02/2023 | Boreham Wood | Away | NLP | L | 0-1 | 1311 | ||
| 07/02/2023 | Woking | Home | NLP | L | 1-3 | 5499 | Mandeville 49 | |
| 11/02/2023 | Notts County | Home | NLP | L | 1-2 | 9706 | Dobra 45 | |
| 14/02/2023 | Aldershot Town | Away | NLP | D | 1-1 | 1061 | McCallum 46 | |
| 18/02/2023 | Solihull Moors | Away | NLP | D | 0-0 | 2045 | ||
| 21/02/2023 | Wealdstone | Home | NLP | D | 1-1 | 5472 | Dobra 65 | |
| 25/02/2023 | Oldham Athletic | Home | NLP | L | 0-1 | 7347 | ||
| 28/02/2023 | Wrexham | Away | NLP | L | 1-2 | 9854 | Colclough 90+5 | |
| 04/03/2023 | Gateshead | Away | NLP | W | 2-1 | 1779 | McCallum 43, Colclough 90+2 | |
| 07/03/2023 | Southend United | Away | NLP | W | 2-1 | 5195 | Maguire 14, Colclough 65 | |
| 11/03/2023 | Yeovil Town | Home | NLP | |||||
ATTENDANCE STATISTICS
Highest League Attendance: 9,706 vs Notts County 11/02/2023
Lowest League Attendance: 5,447 vs Altrincham 24/01/2023
Average League Attendance: 6,736
CURRENT LEAGUE SEQUENCE STATISTICS
| Games Without A Win: | 0 | Games Without A Home Win: | 4 | |
| Games Without An Away Win: | 0 | Games Without Defeat: | 2 | |
| Games Without A Home Defeat: | 0 | Games Without An Away Defeat: | 2 | |
| Games Without A Draw: | 5 | Games Without A Score Draw: | 4 | |
| Games Without A No-Score Draw: | 5 | Games Without Scoring: | 0 | |
| Games Without Conceding: | 0 | Home Results Sequence: | LLDL | |
| Away Results Sequence: | LLDDLWW | Overall Results Sequence: | LLLLDDDWW |
Chesterfield: Club Information
Technique Stadium
1866 Sheffield Road
Whittington Moor
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
S41 8NZ
(Click for map)
NB: If the above postcode is not recognised by your satnav, the club recommends trying S41 8LF as an alternative).
Telephone Number: 01246 269300
Email: reception@chesterfield-fc.co.uk
Chairman: Mike Goodwin
Football Secretary: Jenni Short
Head of Media & Communications: Nick Johnson
Safety Officer: Tony Booker
Manager: Paul Cook
Capacity: 10,600
Seated: 10,600
Record Attendance (Saltergate): 30,968 v Newcastle United, Division Two, 7th April 1939
Record Attendance (Current Stadium): 10,089 v Rotherham United, League Two, 18th March 2011
Colours: shirt blue, shorts white, socks blue
Nickname: Spireites
Programme: £3.00
Ticket Information:
Tickets for our visit to Technique Stadium on Saturday 11th March, with a 3.00 p.m. kick-off, are on sale. We won’t be in the North Stand this time, having been switched to a corner of the East Stand, in Block E1. This is a seated section. Prices below are for on-line purchase through Chesterfield’s ticketing portal. On-line tickets go off sale one hour before kick-off.
Prices:
Adult: £20.00
Concession 65+: £16.00
Age 17-21: £15.00
16 & under: £7.00
Tickets are barcoded, with entry through automated turnstiles. They will almost certainly have allocated seat numbers printed on them. How much that will actually be enforced at the ground is anyone’s guess. At some stadiums the stewards can get quite fractious if they spot supporters not sticking to allocated seats; at others they don’t take any notice at all. For those buying on the day there has been a separate ticket office for away fans behind the North Stand in the past. Presumably that is still the case.
Note: there is a £2.00 surcharge on the above prices for tickets bought from the ticket office on matchday and for those ordered by phone to be collected from the office on the day.
Disabled Supporters:
As a new built-from-scratch stadium it has more provision that is often found at this level of football.
As we are no longer in the North Stand all the information this guide previously carried on the provision in that area would seem irrelevant. There is an area at the front of Block E2 (which is the neutral zone) in the East Stand marked on the stadium seating plan as “Disabled Area” and at a best guess this may be where disabled away fans would be placed.
There were four Blue Badge disabled parking bays available for away fans, located close to the North Stand, but these seem to have disappeared into a general first-come-first-served-for-all provision. Phone Karen Wood on 01246 269300 during the week before the match to reserve a space (subject to availability), priced at £7.00.
Carers with medium/higher carer up to date paperwork will be admitted free of charge.
Further details can be found at a dedicated Access for All page on the Chesterfield FC Official Website. If this doesn’t answer specific questions the contact at the club is disability co-ordinator Karen Wood on 01246 269300 or e-mail karenwood@chesterfield-fc.co.uk.
Official Away Travel
The Green & White Supporters’ Club is running away travel to Chesterfield on Saturday, March 11th with a 3.00 p.m. kick-off.
Details are as follows:
Members: Adult £31.00; Concession £29.00
Non-Members: Adult £34.00; Concession £32.00
Coach departs Huish Park: 7.45 a.m.
To book, call Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570 (after 6.00 p.m. please) or email him on paulhadlow@outlook.com.
If you are getting in touch by email, please make it clear which match you are booking for and that you give your full name, the names of people that are travelling and a contact telephone number.
You may be asked to pay a £5 deposit to reserve your seat.
Chesterfield: Directions To The Ground
Chesterfield is about six miles west of the M1, two-thirds of the way up on the section between Nottingham and Sheffield. Leave at Junction 29 if coming from the South, Junction 30 if travelling from the North. The new ground is situated just under a mile and a half north of Chesterfield town centre, and the same from the railway station.
By Road
From The South:
This is the direction that West Country and London/South East based Yeovil Town supporters will be coming from. Leave the M1 motorway at Junction 29. At the roundabout take the second exit onto the A617 dual carriageway for 7 miles or so. At the end of the A617 get in the right hand lane and at the roundabout take the 4th exit, joining the A61 northbound – this is another dual carriageway. At the next roundabout take the first exit at the Tesco roundabout. Go past the Gordon Lamb garage on the left, with the Donkey Derby on the right. At the next roundabout take the 3rd exit and drive along Sheffield Road (B6057). You should be able to see the ground on your left just past the Tesco entrance.
From The North:
At Junction 30 exit towards Barlborough (also signposted Chesterfield). Approaching Barlborough there’s a roundabout. Take the last exit, which is signposted Staveley and Chesterfield, onto the A619. You cross back over the M1. This is a slow old A road through small villages and general built up areas nearly all the way along. Don’t be tempted to break the limit – there are loads of speed cameras all the way.
In Brimington follow the A619 round the large island. Keep in the left-hand lane and following signs to Chesterfield. At the bottom of Brimington Hill you’ll see a Sainsburys. At the Sainsburys roundabout keep in the left-hand lane and keep following the A619, towards Tesco. At the Tesco roundabout take the 3rd exit.
You have now joined up with the same route as your southern based fellow fans. Go past the Gordon Lamb garage on the left, with the Donkey Derby on the right. At the next roundabout take the 3rd exit and drive along the Sheffield Road (B6057). You should be able to see the ground on your left just past the Tesco entrance.
Parking
Like Southampton, Colchester, Swansea etc., this is one of these new stadiums where you’d swear there was a nuclear reactor at the centre, such are the efforts to try to keep vehicles away from it. Chesterfield state that: “Car parking at the Stadium is by permit only and operation is controlled by a Traffic Management Plan approved by a Safety Advisory Group, comprising safety experts, the police and…” yadda yadda yadda … you get the picture. Thankfully you are sort of walking distance from the town centre, so this isn’t the worst of them all.
Advice is that the Tesco Extra car park next door to the stadium is patrolled on matchdays so don’t be tempted to drop the car in there unless you’re prepared to take your chances. As with many towns, Chesterfield has Resident Permit Only Parking Schemes in place in certain areas so keep an eye out for where you can’t legally park on-street. There is limited parking along some of the side streets that join Sheffield Road. Though obviously home fans know which these are, so the nearer you get to kick-off the further you can expect to be walking after finding a space. The Traffic Management Plan has maps identifying some (sections of) streets/roads where non-resident parking is available here (scroll to bottom of page and click on Travel Plans 1, 2 & 3).
The nearest public car park we can find is at Blue Banks Pool Nature Reserve (car park is in Station Road, Brimington, off the A61 Sheffield to Chesterfield by-pass). Open 24 hours and free. So, if you fancy a bit of pre-match bird watching? It’s then 0.8 of a mile (so about 15 minutes) or 1.1 miles (so about 20 minutes) if taking the scenic route along the canal, walk to the stadium. Other than that, all the other public car parks, both council and privately run, are down around the town centre. The nearest is 1.3 miles (c. 25 minutes walk) from the stadium. For the long-stay council car parks anything over four hours, which you’d probably require, is c. £5.00. Take your pick out of this lot if finding yourself needing one: Car park finder (chesterfield.gov.uk) .
One thing to note if you do get a spot in the official club car park, which we would imagine in reality applies only to officials and disabled supporters as far as visiting clubs are concerned, is that they do not allow car traffic to enter or exit the car park for the 30 minutes before and after the games. Coaches and pedestrians will be the only things that move in that car park in between times.
Disabled supporters can buy car parking bays at the Technique Stadium by phoning during the week before the match. Spaces cost £7.00 each (subject to availability) and can be reserved by phoning Karen Wood on 01246 269300.
By Rail
This one is doable as a day return to Yeovil Junction, with the last train out of Chesterfield via London with the necessary connections being the 18.12, arriving Yeovil at 23.40. For those living out towards Taunton or Bridgewater there’s the alternative of direct services to Chesterfield with Cross Country going out, though the return post-match will require a change at either Bristol Temple Meads or Derby depending on the train chosen.
For those going from the South-East, London St Pancras International is your station. East Midlands Trains run direct services to Chesterfield at 02 and 32 minutes past the hour on a Saturday. Journey time is between 1 hour 43 minutes and 1 hour 57 minutes. The last direct train back to the London is the 20.13, getting in to St Pancras at 22.08. The last service allowing one to get back to London on the night is the 20.42, requiring a change at East Midland Parkway, and arriving 23.22.
It’s 1.4 miles from the railway station to the ground, so around half a hour if walking. There are several routes one could take, all pretty much equidistant. I wouldn’t use the route kindly selected by the Chesterfield Official Site on its ‘How To Find Us’ page. Looks dull, boring and seemingly designed to pass the minimum number of nice things – like places selling food and/or drink. Personally I would choose – and have – this: exit the station, turn left along Crow Lane, then right on to Malkin Street (B6543); this then becomes Brewery Street after the roundabout, and gets one over the A61. Immediately after crossing the bridge over the A61 take the path to the right of a pedestrian crossing. This links to the bottom of Infirmary Road. Follow Infirmary Road to the T Junction with Wharf Lane. Turn left onto Wharf Lane, then immediately take the right fork onto Hardwick Street. At the end of Hardwick Street you reach Sheffield Road (B6057). Turning right on to Sheffield Road takes one up to the stadium (and if by this time one has got fed up with walking there’s the option of catching a bus along Sheffield Road for the remaining 0.8 . of a mile to the stadium).
By Bus
With Chesterfield’s Technique Stadium, unlike Saltergate which was bang in the middle, now 1.4 miles out of town, for those planning on spending any time in the centre, and who don’t fancy the 30 minute walk from the town centre to the ground, there are a number of bus services operating that head in that direction. Stagecoach are the main bus operators around Chesterfield.
Departing New Beetwell Street – map: New Beetwell Street – various local buses, including Nos. 25 (stop B3), 43 (stop B2) and 44 (stop B2) with nearest alighting/boarding stops right outside the Technique, run up and down Sheffield Road. There’s one or another roughly every ten minutes and journey time up to the ground is 12 to 13 minutes.
There are also coach services, X17 and 50A Gold, stopping near the stadium that connect through to Sheffield. Both have two services each way an hour (from and to New Beetwell Street, stop B3) past the ground.
For anyone lured by the temptations of the ‘Brampton Mile’ (see Food & Drink – General, below) a number of buses run along Chatsworth Road (A619) but the most useful is probably the No.90 as its route eventually goes up Sheffield Road nearly as far as the stadium – journey time about 20 minutes.
In the early years when the new stadium first opened there was a subsidised (seem to recall £1.00 each way when used it) football shuttle service from the town centre to the stadium. However, can find no reference to it now on the club’s website ‘How To Find Us’ page, so that could well have been discontinued.
Taxis
If you feel you are likely to need a taxi in Chesterfield a selection of companies can be found here: Taxis in Chesterfield .
Chesterfield: Web Resources
Websites
Chesterfield FC – club’s Official Website. Better organised, easier to navigate and with more useful up to date information than many.
Chesterfield FC Facebook – club’s official Facebook page.
Chesterfield FC – official Twitter account.
Spirerites Write – Friends of the Gloverscast! Fans blogging site. The guys have a podcast and website with all the Chesterfield news. Worth a follow on social media. Tell them we sent you!
Bob’s Board – busy forum.
Chesterfield Online – quieter forum than the above.
Local Press
Chesterfield: Food & Drink
General:
With a population of around 100,000 Chesterfield has something like 100 pubs and bars, which is a very good ratio. Since we began playing league matches against The Spireites they have of course moved, from Saltergate, which was right in the heart of the town, to what is currently called Technique Stadium, one and a half miles away in the northern suburb of Whittington Moor. The new ground is thus around 25 to 30 minute walk from the town centre, Sheffield Road (B6057) providing a fairly straight-forward route between the two areas.
We’ve retained some of the town centre pubs, as this will be a starting/end point for fans using public transport. The ‘Brampton Mile’, which runs from the centre westwards along Chatsworth Road (A619), still contains a dozen pubs along and just off it, including several of the more interesting ones the town has to offer for beer aficionados. And, of course, we’ve selected what we consider the best options towards and around the stadium. Given our fall from grace means we’re mostly going to provincial towns these days rather than cities like Leeds, Norwich, Sheffield, Southampton or Bristol, this (along with Nottingham and York) is one of the longer pub lists of the season – Chesterfield is a really good place for beer.
Back in the day the original local Brampton Brewery dominated Chesterfield and surrounding district, selling 200.000 pints a week through 140 tied pubs, but was closed down in 1955. In 2007 a micro-brewery under the same name of Brampton Brewery launched. Although still tiny in comparison it has since grown, both in terms of output and with three pubs around the town (all detailed below) and a shop, called Beer Cellar, at the brewery itself. Derbyshire has been quite a hotbed in the small independent brewery revolution of the last couple of decades, and now has over sixty, with some like Buxton and Thornbridge reaching a national and international presence and reputation while others remain very local. And though ‘Craft’ beer (however variously that may be defined) was seen as a big city phenomenon originally, and still passes some provincial towns by completely, Chesterfield has significantly taken it on board. If you can’t find a pub or bar and some beers you like around Chesterfield you’re not trying. Since our last visit a new artisan food & drink hall has opened on the other side of the road from the stadium hosting a range of independent vendors, The Batch House, including a craft beer bar The Hop Lamp (below).
Although Chesterfield fixtures had little reputation for trouble Derbyshire police gained some note in the past as an officious bunch, regularly trying to corral visiting fans, particularly those arriving by train, who they could pick on easily and insist used certain pubs. They liked filming fans for no good reason too. That said, maybe our reputation as one of the friendliest most affable set of fans on the circuit went before us, as we don’t recall any overly obvious policing around the town on our visits. They also may well have eased off further recently, with the stadium now safely out of the town centre and the Spireites into Non-League.
Club Bar:
Somewhat unexpectedly, as a from the ground up designed new stadium, Chesterfield chose not to incorporate a fans clubhouse. The Vice Presidents Suite, 1866 Lounge and SBK IT Solutions Spires Restaurant keep the posh folks corralled out the way while the rest of us get stuck with concourse provision.
The concourse facilities in the stands open from around an hour and a half before kick off. A selection of hot and cold snacks – the usual football stadium fare of burgers/hot dogs/sausage rolls/chips but including a range of pies (there is a vegetarian option amongst these, Mexican Chilli Bean) supplied by local bakery Jacksons that get good reviews – are served. Also available, a range of hot and cold drinks including Real Ale supplied by Brampton Brewery (though can’t confirm whether the real ale option extends to the away end – didn’t notice any on my last visit). All concourses have TVs showing Sky Sports before kick off and then ‘Soccer Saturday’ after the match for results from around the leagues. Be aware that, after a short trial at the start of last season that was described as “successful”, all internal purchases at the stadium are now cashless.
Local Pubs:
Beer Parlour: Micropub/Bottle Shop just a few yards from the Derby Tup (see below) almost on the corner of King Street North and Sheffield Road. Has eight Cask and six Keg lines focusing on local and regional breweries, plus a very large range of bottled and canned British and Continental beers for both on- and off-sales. Also stocks Real Cider. Everyone seems to agree they open at 4.00 p.m. weekdays, noon on Saturday and 1.00 p.m. Sunday. Different sources give a range of closing times: anything between 9.00 p.m. and midnight! But that can be the way with micropubs, closing if not busy enough. 0.3 miles (so five to six minutes walk) north of the stadium. Disabled accessible.
[NOTE: if seeking out the website, it appears to have been abandoned when they moved location some years ago. Why would one leave up a website advertising wrong address, incorrect landline number etc.? Makes no business sense.] The Beer Parlour, 1 King Street North, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 9BA. Tel. 07870 693411. Map: The Beer Parlour.
Chesterfield Alehouse: Micropub that opened 2013, situated south-westwards from the railway station and just south of the old Saltergate ground. As with many micropubs it’s a converted former shop unit. Has six cask and twelve keg lines, all from small independent breweries. Also stocks cider and perry. Food limited to bar stacks. When available Free to Air sports are shown in the upstairs room. Opening hours are: 3.00 p.m. – 10.00 p.m. Monday & Thursday; 2.00 p.m. – 10.00 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2.00 p.m. – 7.30 p.m. Sunday. 1.6 miles from the stadium, so half hour walk (or see Bus/Taxi information above).
Chesterfield Alehouse, 37 West Bars, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 1AG. Tel: no number available, if need to contact can try e-mail: chesterfieldalehouse@gmail.com . Map: Chesterfield Alehouse.
Chesterfield Arms: North-west from Chesterfield station, in the general direction of the ground. The stadium is 1.1 miles (so around 20 minutes walk) away. Wet lead Everards pub, but doesn’t restrict itself to their beers. Describes itself on the website ( Chesterfield Arms ) as “A Cask Ale Emporium” which with twelve handpumps seems a fair enough claim. The regular beers are Everards Tiger, Bass, Oakham’s JHB, and Timothy Taylor Landlord. The other eight pumps offer constantly changing options, though some offerings from Abbeydale and from Thornbridge are usually on. Has up to three real ciders on: Thistly Cross Original, Seacider Hardcore and Lily the Pink by Celtic Marches are mentioned as frequent choices. Photo of the bar suggests there’s around five Keg lines, but the only one deemed worth a specific identification on the website is Amstel Lager. Bar snacks are more substantial than just the crisps and nuts options: a range of pies, cheese boards and homemade scotch eggs are available (presumably all day); and has added Pizzas (Thursday to Saturday 4.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m.) since our last trip. Disabled access but no dedicated toilet facilities. Children allowed (if there are time restrictions on this can’t find them specified anywhere). Small decked outside seating/smoking area. Opening times: Sunday to Thursday noon – 11.00 p.m.; Friday and Saturday noon – midnight.
The Chesterfield Arms, 40 Newbold Road, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 7PH. Tel: 01246 236634. Map: Chesterfield Arms.
Crafty Dog: Pub along the ‘Brampton Mile’ that was called the Red Lion but then was closed for many years. As new name suggests the revival in focusing on the ‘Craft’ beer market. Has around 10 beers on cask and 20 on keg, regularly changing and almost all from small independent breweries. Claims to have one of the widest selections of gins in the area. Food is a range of burgers and pizzas from 5.00 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, noon to 8.30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon – 6.00 p.m. Sunday. Opening hours are from 5.00 p.m. – 10.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday, noon – 11.00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon – 7.00 p.m. Sunday. Two miles from the ground, so either part of a pub crawl towards the ground or check out the Bus/Taxi information (above).
Crafty Dog, 261 Chatsworth Road, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2BL. Tel: 01246 206130. Map: Crafty Dog. (NOTE: website currently carrying a notice saying going through a “refurbishment and brand change”. No timescale is given so may or may not be re-opened by time we visit.)
Derby Tup: Now Chesterfield FC are up on the north side of the town, this is one of the closer hostelries to the stadium, five minutes walk (third of a mile) past the ground if coming from the centre along Sheffield Road. Was one of Castle Rock Brewery’s 20+ pubs but got sold in June 2019 and is now a Free House. It doesn’t seem the intention of the new owner is to change it too much in the cask beer department – why fix what ain’t broke? The ten hand pumps have been retained, but do now carry changing beers from a wider selection of breweries than previously. There’s also a good number of ciders. The Keg lines seem rather disappointing though – the sort of multi-national fizz that gets advertised on the telly. Disabled access, tiny beer garden to rear, regular live music, doesn’t do food. Seems to have been one of those pubs that really struggled under Covid restrictions (lack of matchday crowds won’t have helped), and was closed from beginning November 2020 to end of July 2021 and then again for another spell in 2022. Back open, though keeps rejigging its opening hours. The latest (from about a month ago) are: 4.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 4.00 p.m. – midnight Friday; noon – midnight Saturday and Sunday. Away fans welcome. No website but does give some indication of what beers are coming up on Facebook: The Derby Tup .
Derby Tup, 387, Sheffield Road, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 8LS. Tel: 01246 269835. Map: Derby Tup.
Donkey Derby: Second closest pub, at 3 to 4 minutes walk, to the stadium after the Glassworks (see immediately below). This is from Greene King’s ‘Flaming Grill’ chain: Donkey Derby . A ‘home fan’ pub, but no reports of any issues with away supporters. Flaming Grill pubs are what they are. Couple of cask beers, Sports TV, beer garden area, own car park, family friendly. Opening hours: 11.00 a.m. – 11.00 p.m. (with food served up to 9.00 p.m.) every day except Sunday when it shuts at 10.30 p.m.
Donkey Derby, 405-407 Sheffield Road, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, Cheshire, S41 8JZ. Tel: 01246 554485. Map: Donkey Derby.
Hop Lamp: Craft beer bar in a new artisan food hall that opened Autumn 2022 pretty much opposite the football ground and just north of the Glassworks pub (below). Carries 12 core keg lines covering beers, lagers and ciders and a number of changing beers. Parking. Opening hours a simple 11.00 a.m. – 11.00 p.m. everyday. Hundred yards from the stadium.
The Hop Lamp, The Batch House, The Glass Yard, Sheffield Road, Whittington Road, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 8LF. Tel: none found. Map: Hop Lamp.
Glassworks: Right by the stadium – and we mean right by (100 yards), on opposite side of Sheffield Road from the Technique. Previously called the Rose & Crown and then The Spireite, this pub became Brampton Brewery’s third pub ( The Glassworks ) in the town (see Rose & Crown and Tramway Tavern below), reopening after a major refurbishment in January 2019. Has up to eight of the brewery’s own Real Ales on handpump. The brewery has also recently started producing one of their beers in keg format. Other keg lines are Beavertown Neck Oil, Blue Moon Belgian White and Carling Lager (both by Molson Coors), Guinness, Vedett Blonde (Duvel Moortgat), Staropramen Pravha and Brooklyn Lager. Up to four real ciders are stocked, plus one keg, Aspalls (that industrial multi-national giant Molson Coors again). Small beer yard to rear; Sports TV; and bar snacks include pork pies, with steak pies added as an additional line on matchdays. An additional outside bar is set up on matchdays to ease congestion. Currently opening hours appear to be from 4.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday and noon Friday to Sunday, closing at 11.00 p.m. everyday except Sunday, when it’s half an hour earlier. Both home and away supporters welcome.
Glassworks, 388 Sheffield Road, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 8LF. Tel: 01246 768688. Map: The Glassworks .
Market Pub: Cunningly named after the local market that takes place pretty much outside, it’s right in the centre of town, so a ten minutes stroll from the railway station and 1.4 miles from the football ground (so a brisk half an hour walk or check out the Bus/Taxi information above). Although a Greene King pub – The Market Pub – the landlord sensibly doesn’t bother much with their beers. Their IPA, along with Timothy Taylor Landlord and Kelham Island Easy Rider are the house beers, with five more handpumps offering a changing range usually from small independent breweries. Real cider is available. On the Keg side some standards are stocked but we spotted a guest from top Estonian brewers Pohjala when there a few years back – so this is definitely a pub with an interest in quality beer. Opening is 11.00 a.m. – 11.00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 11.00 a.m. – midnight Friday & Saturday; with food served 11.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m. and 5.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 12 noon – 4.00 p.m. and 5.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. Sunday. Does a wide-ranging menu including grills, seafood, in-house produced pies, many burger combinations, vegetarian and vegan dishes, sandwiches/baguettes. There’s an open yard space to the rear.
The Market Pub, 95 New Square, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 1AH. [Note: the pub lists a slightly different address to the one given by Google Maps. We’ve assumed the pub knows where it is and have gone with their version here.] Tel: 01246 273641. Map: The Market Pub .
Mason’s Bar: If you used Jaceys (micropub) at 439 Sheffield Road on a previous trip(s) this moved about 60 yards February 2023 and changed its name – so still around 0.4 of a mile, 8 minutes walk, north of the stadium – to become Mason’s Bar. Beer options look a bit more restricted at the new venue (two hand pumps and eight keg taps) and the keg more mainstream multinational. Healey’s Rattler remains the cider. Opening times given as from 5.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 4.00 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday and 3.00 p.m. Sunday, closing at 10.00 p.m. everyday.
Mason’s Bar, 10 Station Road, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 9AQ. Tel: 07852 656920. Map: 10 Station Road (too new to be actually identified by name on Google maps).
Neptune Beer Emporium: Hoping not a bad sign that both its website and Facebook page appear to have been recently pulled. The pub is still operating at time of writing. A hundred yards from the Chesterfield Arms (above), just off Sheffield Road and exactly one mile (so c. 20 minute walk) from the football ground. Formerly a Thwaites pub, it’s now a backstreet Free House. It has up to eight cask ales on from small independent breweries while the keg and bottle/can ranges focus on ‘Craft’, and Continental beers from the likes of Bosteels (Kwak), Duvel Moortgat (Vedett and Duvel), d’Achouffe (La Chouffe), Erdinger, Warsteiner, Van Honsebrouck (Kasteel), Huyghe (Delirium) and Westmalle. Claims to have one of the widest ranges of Belgian beers on tap in the North (though how much of an achievement that is only a Northerner is likely to be able to say). Also stocks three or four ciders. Food was only on Sunday lunchtime, from noon until 4.00 p.m. Saturday opening was 12.00 noon – 11.00 p.m. last season.
Neptune Beer Emporium, 46 St Helen’s Street, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 7QD. Tel: 01246 224749. Map: The Neptune Beer Emporium .
Pig & Pump: Those making the away trip to Chesterfield in earlier times may recall this as the White Swan. Town centre pub situated just south of the station and opposite the Crooked Spire: Pig & Pump . A Free House in the Bar & Kitchen style of pub, it’s gone a bit more ‘Kitchen’ and a bit less pubby than when it was the White Swan but still does twelve cask beers and stocks real cider. Permanent lines are Brains Rev James, Castle Rock Harvest Pale, Oakham Citra and Titanic Plum Porter, with the rest rotating around independent breweries too. Keg lines are a mix from the multinationals and smaller outfits. Large open plan pub inside, decked patio area outside. Food (there’s a separate children’s menu) served all day from opening until 8.00 p.m. Disabled access. Opening hours a fairly straightforward 12.00 noon every day, to 11.00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 12.30 a.m. Friday, 1.00 a.m. Saturday. Exactly one and half miles to the ground, so half an hour walk or see the Bus/Taxi information (above).
Pig & Pump, 16 St Mary’s Gate, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 7TJ. Tel: 01246 229570. Map: Pig & Pump .
Portland Hotel: One of Timmy’s ventures into the hotel business, with 22 rooms, towards the southern side of the town centre. On the pub side, opening is 8.00 a.m. – midnight Sunday to Thursday and 8.00 a.m. – 1.00 a.m. Friday and Saturday, with food served up to 11.00 p.m.: The Portland Hotel – J D Wetherspoon. There are four Real Ales from Wetherspoon’s unexciting ‘house’ list – Marston’s Pedigree and Ringwood Fortyniner and Greene King’s Abbot and Ruddles Best – plus up to four changing options. A Real Cider is also stocked – usually one of Weston’s lines. Step free access and an outside area. One and a half miles (so half an hour walk or check out the bus/taxi information above) from the stadium. For those seeking the Spoons experience the other outlet in town, Spa Lane Vaults (see below), is probably the better option – unless you’re wanting for a room of course.
The Portland Hotel, West Bars, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 1AY. Tel: 01246 293600. Map: The Portland Hotel .
Real Ale Corner: Towards the western end of the ‘Brampton Mile’ so about a mile out from the town centre. This makes it 2.4 miles from the Technique Stadium. Opening hours are very hard to establish (seems something of a case of as & when fancy to – they used do tend to make an announcement on their Facebook page as to what hours are intended on a particular day – however they have launched a website since our 2022 visit and that states: 5.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 3.00 p.m. – 10.00 p.m. Friday; 3.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. Saturday; and 3.00 p.m. – 6.00 p.m. Sunday. So a venue for post-match celebrations after our inevitable victory! Started 2009, and claiming to be the second oldest micropub in the UK, the original owners retired April 2019 but the new team were all customers and have determined to carry it forward in the same format. Appear to have spent the lockdowns completely revamping and refurbishing the place. Primarily a Bottle Shop, but with an on- as well as an off-licence, it stocks up to 150 different bottled and canned beers at any one time. A principle is: if it’s a beer one can find in a supermarket you won’t find it here. Also has three hand pumps serving a constantly changing selection of two Real Ales sourced from micro-breweries, four keg taps and a couple of real ciders. Beer garden to the rear. Not sure it really is a pub as such but, regardless, the local CAMRA branch made it Chesterfield Pub of the Year 2019.
The Real Ale Corner, 415 Chatsworth Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 3AD. Tel: 01246 202111. Map: Real Ale Corner .
Red Lion: Nine minutes walk (0.4 miles) north of the stadium, just before Sheffield Road (B9057) meets the A61 at the roundabout. This is the only fixed outlet in the town for the Old Mill Brewery based in Snaith, and the southern most of its 17 pubs – all the rest being in Yorkshire with one exception in Lincolnshire. Two room pub, with the public bar having Sports TV and a jukebox. Outside area and car parking. No food apart from rolls in three different varieties. Has three of the brewery’s core cask beers as regulars, plus seasonals as and when. Standard opening hours are 12.00 noon until 11.00 p.m. every day, though it can have a late licence when live music is on, up to 1.00 a.m.
Red Lion, 570 Sheffield Road, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 8LX. Tel: 01246 450770. Map: Red Lion .
Rose & Crown: The first of Brampton Brewery’s pubs Rose & Crown (see Glassworks above and Tramway Tavern below), acquired in 2009 with assistance from the commendable Everards William Project in which Everards Brewery identifies closed or failing pubs, does them up and rents them out to local micro-breweries looking to get a foot on the ladder of the retail part of the trade. The micro-breweries agree to stock one of Everards Real Ales – in this one it’s Tiger – and to buy in the pub’s keg lagers and ciders through the Leicestershire brewery. Brampton’s beers feature heavily on the rest of the handpumps, with Best and Golden Bud as regulars and others from the range rotating; but with nine cask lines in total there’s still room for several changing guests from other micro-breweries. A large number of real ciders are stocked – no surprise therefore it has a local Cider Pub of the Year Award 2019 to its name. Has outdoor drinking spaces to front and rear and parking. Meals Sunday lunchtime only. Opening hours are from noon, to 11.00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, midnight Friday and Saturday. Part of the ‘Brampton Mile’, though about 100 yards off the main drag of Chatsworth Road (A619), it’s a mile from the centre of town and thus more car (if you’re fortunate enough to have a designated driver), bus or taxi up to the ground 2.4 miles away than walking. Unless one is made of sterner stuff of course, in which case could be the starting point for a pub crawl along the ‘Mile’ into the centre, then northwards towards the stadium!
Rose & Crown, 104 Old Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2QT. Tel: 01246 563750. Map: The Rose & Crown .
Royal Oak: Right in centre of town in the market area. Reputedly the oldest pub in Chesterfield (though local historians have recently published research showing the supposed medieval origins are the usual Ye Olde Pubbe garbage and it dates to around 1775 – facts, eh?) the interior has Heritage Status. Given its (admittedly dubious) historical status does seem unlikely the council would sanction any change of use application, so to be hoped it will be back trading as a pub at some point.
Note: at time of our originally scheduled 2021-22 fixture this pub was CLOSED, the previous tenants departing on 14th August 2021.
Further update: at time of writing for our February 2022 fixture this pub remains CLOSED. Grade II listed, it’s yours for £295,000.
Further further update: another year on and March 2023 still remains CLOSED.
Royal Oak, 1 The Shambles, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 1PX. Tel: Map: The Royal Oak .
Rutland: (Seems to have dropped the “Arms” part of its signage from when we first used it.) Right by the spire of crookedness fame, just off the eastern end of Saltergate, it’s a pub we know a number of Yeovil fans (including ourselves) have used over the years. Was closed for around 12 months across 2019-20; and that was before Covid struck, so things were looking bleak for it. However, it is back open again – and seemingly very much in its old format. Cask beers are five changing options (with a CAMRA member discount in place). When last there the pub had also introducing a couple of ‘craft’ keg lines, but with a new landlord in place can’t confirm whether this has continued. Weston’s Old Rosie cider is usually available. With no internet presence (that’s of any use – a Facebook page that has not been updated since August 2020!) these are the best times can come up with: food lunchtimes and early evening on weekdays, all day (from noon- 8.00 p.m.) Saturday and noon – 5.00 p.m. Sunday. Opening from 12.00 noon everyday, possibly closing 11.30 p.m. Monday to Wednesday, 12.30 a.m. Thursday to Saturday and 11.00 p.m. Sunday. There’s an outside seating area. Children welcome. 1.3 miles from the stadium, (so about 25 minutes walk, or see Bus/Taxi information above).
The Rutland, 23 Stephenson Place, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 1XL. Tel: 01246 205857. Map: The Rutland.
Spa Lane Vaults: Second J D Wetherspoon in town (see Portland Hotel above): Spa Lane Vaults . Smaller than the Portland, closer to the railway station (6 to 7 minutes walk south-east from the station – so wrong direction for the stadium) for those doing the train on this trip, and not being slap in the centre of town, it tends to be a bit less busy at peak times. Also usually has better beer and cider ranges: Greene King Abbot and Ruddles Best are the permanent Real Ale options; there’s five changing guests, whose selection shows a bit more adventure than the Portland’s; and the Real ciders are usually Gwynt y Ddraig’s Black Dragon, Weston’s Old Rosie, plus one changing. Has disabled access and an outside patio area. Opening is 8.00 a.m. – midnight Sunday to Thursday, 9.00 a.m. – 1.00 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Food served from opening time until 9.00 p.m. on weekdays, and until 10.00 p.m. at weekends. Children allowed until 8.00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9.00 p.m. the rest of the week. Spoons generally don’t start serving alcohol until 9.00 p.m. or 10 p.m. but haven’t found out which is the case with this one. 1.4 miles walk to the stadium (so about half an hour walk, or check out the Bus/Taxi information above).
Spa Lane Vaults, 34 St Mary’s Gate, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 7TH. Tel: 01246 246300. Map: The Spa Lane Vaults .
Tap House: Long-term closed – along with Barlow Brewery of Dronfield for which it was the Tap – for several years, some good news: it’s back open again (the pub, not the brewery) as part of the ‘Brampton Mile’. Eight hand pumps, with Bass as the regular ale and the rest occupied by changing beers from small independent breweries. Keg is mostly from multinationals with the odd ‘craft’ offering. Covered courtyard area to rear. Opening hours: 4.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 2.00 p.m. – midnight Friday; noon – midnight Saturday; noon – 11.00 p.m. Sunday.
The Tap House, 318 Chatsworth Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2EB. Tel: 01246 234731. Map: Tap House.
Tramway Tavern: Another port of call for anyone wandering the ‘Brampton Mile’ and the second pub acquired by Brampton Brewery through the Everards William Project (see Rose & Crown above): Tramway Tavern. Exactly two miles from the stadium, so again either part of a pub crawl towards the ground or check out the Bus/Taxi information (above). Eight handpulls, with Brampton Best and Golden Bud and Everards Tiger the three permanents and the rest further changing options from the brewery’s own stable of beers and other independent breweries. Also stocks real ciders, around half a dozen mainstream keg offerings and a range of bottled Belgian beers. No food. Outside courtyard to rear. No parking. Opening hours are: 4.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday; noon – midnight Friday & Saturday; noon – 11.00 p.m. Sunday. Has a Cider Festival – unfortunately in August… so next season eh, fixtures computer (assuming we and Chesterfield are in the same division).
Tramway Tavern, 192 Chatsworth Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2AT. Tel: 01246 200111. Map: Tramway Tavern .
Travellers Rest: One of the pubs on Sheffield Road close to the ground recommended as away friendly on various websites after the Spireites moved there. If you used it in the past don’t look for it now – been demolished.
Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You :
Not a clue. Derbyshire is just a county you go through. The Peak District is nice and worth stopping in, but that’s to the west of the county. O.K. East Derbyshire is just a place you go through. Chesterfield is in the east of Derbyshire.
Top-Tip: There’s a spire. It’s crooked. It’ll still be crooked even when you sober up.
Other Local Amenities
There’s little special about the place, it’s just a solid decent provincial town – but to be fair we rather like it for that. There’s a good market three days a week and lots and lots of pubs and bars, a considerable number of them worth whiling away some time in.
Other Points Of Interest
The town’s biggest employer is the Royal Mail’s national Administration Department – so you’d think the club would join the Non-League stereotype and have at least one postie playing for them (in FA Cup ties at least), but they don’t. Apart from that, there’s a spire. Have we mentioned the spire? It’s crooked you know.
[No responsibility is taken for any inaccuracies. This page is entirely the product of bias and prejudice.]
