00:00Hello, I'm Philip Ryden. I'm a retired member of the staff of the History
00:04Department of Nottingham University. I have a long-standing interest in the
00:07history of Chesterfield, my hometown. We're going to have a look at some of the
00:12more interesting buildings in the town centre this morning and I'll say
00:15something about the history of each of them. The town hall probably doesn't
00:19really need any introduction. It was built in 1938, designed after a
00:24competition by a Newcastle architect. It bears a striking similarity on a
00:28smaller scale to Hillsborough, the seat of government in Northern Ireland. The two
00:32are not in fact by the same architect. It's been very carefully looked after by
00:36the Borough Council since it was built. It's been renovated internally in recent
00:40years and still looks as impressive as it did the day it was built. Its opening in
00:461938 is really the climax of some 20 years of regeneration in Chesterfield, led
00:51by the then Chesterfield Corporation. In particular, a small circle of senior
00:56councillors, known to contemporaries as the Big Five, who took hold of the council
01:01after the First World War and were determined to use all the powers at
01:05their disposal to improve the built environment in Chesterfield. Clearing away
01:09this site, stretching from Saltgate down to West Bars, was the end of a long
01:14campaign of slum clearance and rebuilding and the centrepiece of the scheme was the
01:19town hall, surrounded when it was first built by lawns and rose gardens. In front of
01:25the town hall you can still see the Chantall Memorial Gardens, named in memory of Sir
01:29Ernest Chantall, whose family owned a wholesale fruit and vegetable business in
01:33the town for many years and who were one of the, who was one of the leading
01:37councillors of his day. He was mayor of Chesterfield throughout the First World War
01:42and remained involved afterwards. Sadly the building may become redundant in the
01:47next couple of years if local government reorganisation completely abolishes
01:52district councils. That will mark the end of 400 years of civic government in
01:57Chesterfield itself.
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