Chesterfield Museum, which is owned and operated by Chesterfield Borough Council has had its accreditation renewed by Arts Council England.

This means that the popular attraction on St Mary’s Gate has high standards both for visitors and caring for objects in its collection.

These include:

• Collections are cared for to a high standard to ensure that they are around for people today and in the future and are well documented
• Making the museum accessible and widening its range of visitors through exhibitions, events and outreach and educational activities
• Using different methods to suit visitors such as hands-on activities and talks as well as written information
• Providing a variety of learning and discovery experiences
• Working with different partners.

Councillor Steve Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy said: “Each year thousands of people visit the many and varied exhibitions and activities at Chesterfield Museum and feedback we receive is positive.

“I’m proud that the museum has had its accreditation renewed and would like to thank our staff for the hard work they have put into this over the last two years.”

Receiving the accreditation means the museum can continue to apply for funding from organisations such as Heritage Lottery Fund and Museums Development East Midlands.

Over the last year, the museum has held a variety of exhibitions including Chesterfield on tap looking at the history of Chesterfield’s breweries and mineral water manufacturers, Other Stories in partnership with LGBT+ Derbyshire celebrating stories from LGBT+ communities, and the Vikings.

The current exhibition, Park Life, exploring the borough’s parks and open spaces runs until 15 September.

The museum also holds regular events including the Lego Play Day, Meet George Stephenson and behind the scenes tours. To look at the current programme, visit: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/museum.

Chesterfield Museum is open each Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm – admission is free.

Derbyshire Chief Executive Simon Storey has hailed another successful Custom Solar Chesterfield Festival of Cricket, in association with Chesterfield Borough Council.

Over 8,000 people attended the week-long festival across five days of cricket, as Derbyshire claimed a four-day win over Northamptonshire before securing a dramatic Vitality Blast victory against Yorkshire Vikings on Saturday.

The Twenty20 fixture was played in front of a 4,500 sold out crowd at Queen’s Park, the second year in a row the match has been an advance sell out as the popularity of the festival continues to grow.

Storey said: “It was a terrific week of cricket and wrapping it up with victory in the last over against Yorkshire on Saturday capped off a memorable week in the north of the county.

“Queen’s Park is a special venue and Members, supporters and players always enjoy the annual trip to Chesterfield.

“The festival brings many benefits to the local community, with thousands of people visiting the town, while it also provides local school kids and cricket club juniors the opportunity to enjoy county cricket right on their doorstep.

“Taking county cricket to Chesterfield is always a huge operational challenge for our off-field team, Chesterfield Cricket Club and Chesterfield Borough Council. Running a matchday safely at an out-ground is hugely challenging and in particular the operations team led by Jamie Guthrie, ground care team led by Neil Godrich and commercial team led by Ryan Duckett work hard for many weeks in preparation.

“A successful festival also relies on partnerships and the support of the local community. We are fortunate to work with local partners such as Custom Solar and Brampton Brewery, and we also get the full support of Chesterfield Borough Council, Chesterfield Cricket Club and Friends of Queen’s Park Cricket. We are hugely grateful for the support we receive.

“The highlight of the week was undoubtedly another sell-out crowd for the traditional Vitality Blast fixture against Yorkshire, and they were treated to one of the best Twenty20 matches the venue has ever seen.

“Every year we look to improve and grow the festival. One thing we will need to review for future years is our policy around Member tickets for any all-ticket match.

“Our post-match analysis suggests that a large number of Members who claimed tickets in advance did not turn up on the day, which meant we were unable the sell those tickets to other fans who wanted to watch the match. As a result, we missed out on significant income, all of which could have been invested back into the Club. I’m sure Members will appreciate that we will need to look at this as part of our Membership package for next year.

“On the whole, it was a terrific week at Queen’s Park with good crowds, excellent cricket and, most importantly, two wins for Derbyshire.

“What made it more satisfying was to see our young Derbyshire home-grown players play a key role in all the matches. As a Club, we remain committed to the development of our young players and we must continue to build for the future and produce cricketers who can consistently win games for the county.”

Derbyshire Falcons’ home Vitality Blast fixture versus Yorkshire Vikings on Saturday 28 July at Chesterfield has sold out for a second year in a row.

The local derby continues to grow in popularity, with more people than ever purchasing tickets in advance to secure their place at the showpiece fixture of the Custom Solar Chesterfield Festival of Cricket, in association with Chesterfield Borough Council.

It’s the third time in four years the Twenty20 fixture at Chesterfield has sold out in advance.

Only matchday ticket holders will be able to gain entry into the ground on Saturday. Tickets will not be available to buy on the day.

Chief Executive, Simon Storey said: “The local derby is always the highlight of our week in Chesterfield. The demand for tickets continues to grow year-on-year and we’re delighted to announce an advance sell out for a second year in a row.

“Queen’s Park is a beautiful venue and the atmosphere is always electric when we have a full house and Yorkshire are in town. It promises to be a great occasion to close this year’s festival.”

Councillor Steve Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “One of the reasons we help bring the cricket festival to Chesterfield each year is that the crowds who attend will stay at hotels in the area, use local restaurants, bars and other leisure facilities.

“It is also an opportunity for local residents to see first class county players in the town and for local schoolchildren to meet the cricketers and be inspired to take part in sport and leisure activities.

“The match against Yorkshire is always the one that local cricket fans look out for so it is no surprise to see it sell out well ahead of the game taking place.”

Supporters with matchday tickets are encouraged to plan their journeys in advance and give plenty of time to arrive at the ground. Gates will open earlier than advertised at 12noon.

Please do not arrive at the ground if you do not have a matchday ticket.

Custom Solar Chesterfield Festival of Cricket, in association with Chesterfield Borough Council.

Don’t miss a day of Medieval Fun in Chesterfield this July.  Visitors to Chesterfield can expect battle re-enactments, dragons, jesters and more at the Chesterfield medieval fun day organised by Chesterfield Borough Council.

The fun-filled family event takes place in various locations across Chesterfield town centre on Tuesday 24 July from 10am to 4pm.

There is a host of activities taking place including:

• A medieval encampment in the Crooked Spire churchyard with skirmishes at 12.30pm and 2.30pm and troop marches to the market place at 11am and 1.30pm
• Court jester performing in Rykneld Square, opposite the church at 11.30am, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm
• The Legend of Theobald Puppet Theatre at Burlington Street at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm
• A fun fair at Chesterfield market all day
• Medieval Monks Comedy Animation Theatre in the market place with shows at 11am, 12.45pm and 2pm
• Dragon and knight in the market place at 11.30am, 1pm and 2pm
• Medieval beggars at the market place and Burlington Street at various times during the day.

Chesterfield Museum is also open during the day.  Visitors can meet Sir Cuss the potion maker who will train them to identify dragons and make potions to protect them from the dragon, the museum is open from 10am to 4pm. Admission is free.

St Mary and All Saints’, the Crooked Spire church is also holding an open day with tours of the church tower hourly from 10.15am to 3.15pm. Tours cost £6 for adults and £4 for children.

Councillor Steve Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “The medieval fun day is one of the most popular events in our calendar each year.

“There are so many fun activities taking place, it’s a great opportunity for families to have a day out, enjoy themselves and learn a little bit about our medieval past at the same time.”

Find out more about the Medieval Fun Day and the Vintage Summer Fair which takes place on the same day.

Chesterfield company Kakou CIC has teamed up with local Chesterfield artist Lucie Maycock to create a sculpture of a whale made entirely from plastic bottles, as part of the Ocean Life exhibit at Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery.

36 million plastic bottles are used by households in the UK every day. They work themselves into just about every aspect of our daily lives. The popularity of plastics is part of a huge problem and our dependence on them makes recycling and reusing plastic bottles essential for the health of the planet.

Beginning in March, the local public joined Lucie to help produce the sculpture during three workshops held at Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery and the Pavements Shopping Centre.

The “Ocean Life” exhibition will run alongside the current Park Life exhibition at the Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery. Ocean Life aims to raise awareness about plastics pollution, describes the impact of micro-plastics on the ocean environment, and provides examples of simple actions individuals can take at home to prevent plastic from ending up in the sea.

Rachel Fannen, Collections Officer at Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery said:-

“Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery naturally jumped at the opportunity to support Kakou’s 2018 campaign to raise awareness about the dangerous impact of plastic on our world but most especially on marine environments.

“Kakou’s 2018 British Science Week project raised awareness by creating a plastics sculpture through local art workshops facilitated by artist Lucie Maycock.

“Chesterfield Museum is very proud to display the finished sculpture which will be accompanied by a display explaining the devastating effect of waste plastics on our planet.”

The exhibition runs from the 7th July and more information can be found here.