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Winding Wheel Theatre kicks off centenary year with blue plaque award

Chesterfield’s iconic Winding Wheel Theatre has kicked off its centenary year celebrations in style, by unveiling a blue plaque from Chesterfield Civic Society.

Councillor Tony Rogers and Sharon Rogers, the Mayor and Mayoress of Chesterfield, officially unveiled the plaque at a small ceremony on Wednesday 1 March with representatives from the Civic Society and Chesterfield Borough Council in attendance.

Originally opening in 1923 as the Picture House, the Winding Wheel Theatre has been an important cultural venue for the last one hundred years. In the late 1930s it was bought by the Odeon Cinema chain but it also housed a ballroom and a restaurant.

It closed in 1981 but was bought by Chesterfield Borough Council, restored and refurbished, opening again in the late 1980s as a conference and entertainment venue and later gained Grade II listed building status.

The Mayor of Chesterfield, Councillor Tony Rogers, said: “It was an honour to unveil this plaque and officially mark the start of the centenary year of the Winding Wheel Theatre.”

Councillor Kate Sarvent, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “The Winding Wheel Theatre has a long and varied history in our town – a historic building that is a popular cultural venue. Thank you to Chesterfield Civic Society for recognising this building with the award of a blue plaque.”

Philip Riden, chairman of the Civic Society, added: “This is one of three plaques funded by a generous grant we received from the Borough Council in 2021. One of the others commemorates Chesterfield Girls High School and the third will be installed at the Stephenson Memorial Hall when the current refurbishment there is complete. We have recently received funding from East Midland Railway for two more plaques to mark the site of two of Chesterfield’s Victorian railway stations.”

More centenary celebrations will take place at the Winding Wheel Theatre later in 2023.

In September there will be an exhibition about the history of the building together with cinema screenings and other events. More details about these events will be released later this year.

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Star cast announced for Chesterfield’s Sleeping Beauty pantomime

Take one TV soap star icon, add in one of the nation’s favourite Britain’s Got Talent winners, sprinkle with an arty Disney presenter and mix to create an exciting star-studded cast to headline Chesterfield’s far from sleepy pantomime Sleeping Beauty.

Instantly recognisable from EastEnders and Coronation Street, Michelle Collins will be casting her own special spell over audiences as the bad fairy Carabosse. Boasting iconic places in TV history with her memorable roles as the home wrecker Cindy Beale in EastEnders and Rovers Return landlady Stella Price in Coronation Street, Michelle will ensure audiences have plenty to boo as the uninvited fairy delivers retribution on Princess Aurora.

He captured the hearts of the nation with his performances on Britain’s Got Talent and as pantomime hero, he’s sure to win the hearts of audiences too; Jai McDowall won the fifth season of BGT with his powerhouse vocals, natural charm and versatile song interpretations. Signed up to Syco Music, Jai followed up his TV success with an album and tour, before performing as BGT winner in the coveted Royal Variety Performance.

Bringing a palette of pantomime comedy, chaos and calamities to the production will be in the multi-talented hands of Lloyd Warbey, host of the legendary children’s TV classic Disney’s Art Attack. The much-loved show takes children on a fun-filled journey through the various stages of producing something artistic. Hosting the iconic show was a dream come true for Lloyd when he took over in 2012, having watched the programme religiously as a child. Professionally trained at the prestigious East 15 acting school, Lloyd will have audiences of all ages wrapped-up in laughter as he plays the pantomime fool.

Despite the notion of chaos with on-stage mishaps and mayhem, directing a pantomime is a careful balancing act of story, comedy, song and dance, combined with great staging, stunning lighting and special effects. And it’s going to take a special director to bring all these elements together in Chesterfield this Christmas!

With a back catalogue of choreographing and directing productions in TV, theatre and fashion, Di Cooke brings a wealth of experience to directing Sleeping Beauty. Having performed with Tina Turner, Rick Astley and Kylie, the in-demand director has also worked with comedy greats such as Ronnie Corbett and Russ Abbot, and more recently, Julian Clary and Alexander Armstrong.

Di has recently devised, directed and choreographed the award-winning Cromer Pier Show and The Cromer Christmas Show.

Pantomime producer Paul Holman said: “I’m thrilled Michelle Collins will be leading this year’s cast in Chesterfield and I’m sure audiences are going to love her stella performance as a pantomime baddie. She’s joined by a very talented and exciting cast with Jai and Lloyd. The production of Sleeping Beauty promises an adventure for all family, with exciting special effects depicting Princess Aurora’s 100-year sleep, glittering costumes and lots of traditional audience participation in what’s shaping up to be Chesterfield’s biggest and brightest panto.”

Tickets for the pantomime Sleeping Beauty at the Winding Wheel Theatre in Chesterfield are on sale now with a special discounted price on tickets purchased before 31 August 2022. Tickets can be purchased online at www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk/panto or by calling the Box Office on 01246 345 222.

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Chesterfield Mayor praises vaccination roll out after receiving first dose

Chesterfield’s Mayor has praised the local Covid-19 vaccination roll out after receiving her first dose last week, and is now urging residents to take the call and get vaccinated too.

Councillor Glenys Falconer received her first vaccination at the Chesterfield Borough Council-owned Winding Wheel Theatre on Friday 22 January after she was called up as part of the roll-out of the jab across Derbyshire.

Chesterfield’s iconic Winding Wheel Theatre and the Wheatbridge Surgery were the latest Covid-19 vaccination sites to open in the town earlier this month.

Councillor Falconer said: “I’m really impressed with the way vaccines are being rolled out here in Chesterfield. The vaccination site at the Winding Wheel Theatre is really well organised and the whole process was quick and straightforward.

“I’m really grateful to the NHS staff and volunteers who are working hard to deliver the vaccine to our residents.

“I was contacted directly by my GP to make an appointment. People will be contacted directly when they are in line for the jab, and I would encourage everyone to take this up and help us to ensure that we can protect the most vulnerable in our community.”

Vaccinations are all by appointment only and patients should not contact their GP about a vaccination unless asked to do so.

People should not attend a vaccination centre without an appointment.

For more information visit joinedupcarederbyshire.co.uk/covid-19-information-and-advice

Meanwhile, Chesterfield Champions, PCT Healthcare and Casa Hotel have worked together to get a vaccination centre up and running at the hotel site, with jabs starting to take place from next week (1st Feb.)

You can read more about the initiative here: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/2021/01/chesterfield-champions-work-together-in-offering-support-to-local-vaccine-rollout/

Destination Chesterfield is continuing to provide local businesses with the latest support and advice throughout the current Covid-19 lockdown. For the latest updates, head over to our Coronavirus business support page: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/business-support/coronavirus/

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Winding Wheel one of seven new COVID-19 vaccination sites

Chesterfield’s iconic Winding Wheel theatre is becoming Derbyshire’s latest COVID-19 vaccination site today, continuing the rapid rollout of the vaccination programme across the county.

The site will begin vaccinations on Thursday morning, using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and it will be followed closely by a second Chesterfield vaccination site at Wheatbridge Surgery on Saturday.

The Chesterfield Borough Council-owned Winding Wheel becomes the tenth primary care vaccination site serving Derbyshire. It is the first of a new wave of openings, with six other sites also opening in the coming days.

The Winding Wheel is a Grade II listed building, built in 1923, and was previously the Picture House Cinema. It normally hosts a popular programme of arts and entertainments, but has been converted into a vaccination site through the hard work of teams from several organisations working together.

The Winding Wheel will initially only carry out vaccinations for healthcare workers, while patient vaccinations are carried out at the nearby Wheatbridge Surgery, ensuring Chesterfield is well provided. Some Chesterfield patients may also be offered appointments at Stubley Medical Practice in Dronfield, if that is more convenient for them.

This start of vaccinations at the Winding Wheel site marks the start of a new wave of openings, including the county’s most southerly vaccination site so far, in Swadlincote. The full list of this wave of openings is:

Winding Wheel Theatre, Chesterfield
Wheatbridge Surgery, Chesterfield
Littlewick Medical Centre
Springs Health Centre, Clowne
Buxton Medical Practice
Shirebrook Sports Sports Hall
Oaklands Village Commmunity Centre, Swadlincote

Vaccinations at the Winding Wheel are being carried out by Chesterfield & Dronfield Primary Care Network (PCN), representing 12 GP practices. Vaccinations are all by appointment only.

People should not contact their GP about a vaccination unless asked to do so, and should not attend any vaccination site without an appointment.

Derby & Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is managing the rollout of the vaccine across the county, and CCG medical director Dr Steve Lloyd said the opening of the Winding Wheel was another big step forward.

The Winding Wheel is such a treasured and historic part of Chesterfield and I’m delighted that it is playing an important in this major vaccination programme.

Carrying out vaccinations at the Winding Wheel means we can provide this vital vaccine to the people of Chesterfield and its surrounding areas in a location well known to most people.

Teams from the PCN, Chesterfield Council and Derbyshire Community Healthcare Services and the CCG have all worked incredibly hard to get this vaccination site up and running, and I’m really proud of their efforts.

The contrast with the modern surrounds of Derby Arena, which opened just last week, demonstrates how flexible, thorough and determined our teams are to identify and prepare the most appropriate venues to reach as many patients as possible.

I’m also particularly pleased that we are beginning vaccinations in Swadlincote, which is our most southerly site yet and provides a vaccination site for communities of South Derbyshire.”

Councillor Tricia Gilby, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “We’re delighted that the Covid-19 vaccination programme is being rolled out in Chesterfield. The use of The Winding Wheel Theatre, which the council owns and operates, as a local vaccination site is a huge step forward in our fight against the virus.

“We’ve been working closely with NHS Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group and other partners to support the roll out and ensure that The Winding Wheel Theatre is ready to receive health care workers for their vaccinations. At this time, Chesterfield residents will be invited to have their vaccination at another local venue, and I urge as many people as possible to come forward and get vaccinated.

“Although this is a huge step forward, we must all make sure we continue to follow the Government guidelines and protect our most vulnerable.”

Vaccinations will be rolled out to more sites over the coming days and weeks, as the vaccination programme continues to build momentum.

The first vaccinations in Derbyshire took place at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Royal Derby Hospital on December 8th, followed by the county’s first vaccinations at a primary care site on December 18th at Stubley Medical Centre.

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