Market Hall, Chesterfield

This photograph shows Chesterfield Market Hall, with the regular street market stalls occupying the Market Square in the foreground.

Chesterfield has held a market since earliest times - the Sherrif of Derbyshire recorded an account of £1 2s 7d from the market of Chesterfield as long ago as 1165. The town's market place was much closer to the Church in the Middle Ages, and the church was used as a store for market goods. This is why in May 1226 during the Battle of Chesterfield, there were sacks of wool in the Nave of the Church for the Earl of Derby to hide amongst!

The present Market Hall was built in 1857 by the Chesterfield Market Company and bought by Chesterfield Corporation in 1872 for the sum of £11,500.^[1]

(Information provided by Rosemary Lockie)

Reference
[1] Turbutt, Gladwyn - A History of Derbyshire, 1999, p.1567.
[2] For further reading see Take a Look at: Market Houses and Halls
[3] For more information on Markets see the Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516, provided by the Centre for Metropolitan History.