Chesterfield

Chesterfield FC has been the name of several football clubs over the years, but the club can trace its history all the way back to 1863. A few years later a second club under the name Chesterfield was founded in 1867 as an offshoot of a cricket club. This club used Saltergate to play their home games (the home of Chesterfield until 2010), but folded due to financial hardship after several years, but was replaced with Chesterfield Town in 1884. This new club also played their home games at Saltergate, meaning Chesterfield could trace their history with the Saltergate ground all the way back to 1871, making it one of the oldest grounds in England at its time of closing in 2010.

This new Chesterfield Town turned professional in 1891 and quickly won several local trophies before making their FA Cup debut the following year. In 1899, the club successfully applied to enter the 2nd division of English football. However, by 1909, after several bad seasons, the club was moved back down to the Midland League. The club was placed into voluntary liquidation in 1915, and the current Chesterfield FC was founded in 1919. In 1921, the club became a founding member of the Football League Third Division North and in 1931 the club won the league on the final day, securing their promotion to the second division. They were relegated two years later, but won the Third Division title again in 1936.

Following WWII, the club finished in their best ever position, fourth in the second division. They sold several players at the end of the season, which ultimately led to a decline in quality and eventually another relegation. By 1961, after several seasons in the 3rd division, the club was relegated to the 4th division for the first time. They spent several years in division 4, but made it back up by 1970. They won the Anglo-Saxon Cup in 1981, but during the 80s became a bit of a yo-yo club, bouncing between the 3rd and 4th division. They got going again in the early 90s and got themselves up to the second division. In 1997 they had their successful run in the FA Cup as they reached the semi-finals and defeated 6 clubs along the way, including Premier League side Nottingham Forest. They actually held Middlesbrough to a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford, then lost 0-3 at home in the replay at Hillsborough in Sheffield.

In 2001, a year after suffering a relegation, the club fired its chairman and the replacement was later found to have committed fraud, putting the club in a very precarious financial situation and landing himself in prison for 4 years. The club was handed over the supporters group, but was in a very poor financial situation to recover from. Chesterfield was relegated to League Two in 2007 and three years later they left their historic home, Saltergate for the newly built (then) B2net Stadium. A year later the club was promoted to League One and in 2012 they won the Football League Trophy for the first time in their history. Despite this historic win, the club was relegated a month later and became more of a League Two regular.

In 2020 the club was purchased by Chesterfield FC Community Trust, a charity associated with the club. The club was eventually relegated to the National League and dropped out of the Football League. After a number of unsuccessful playoff bids, the club finally achieved automatic promotion in 2024 and are currently in League Two.

2024-25 SEASON: 7th in League Two, FA Cup 2nd Round

2025-26 SEASON: League Two (promoted in 2024)

Chesterfield’s main rival is considered to be Mansfield Town. This rivalry was increased due to the miner’s strike in the 1980s, as those in Derbyshire (Chesterfield) were largely striking, while those in Nottinghamshire (Mansfield Town) did not. This led to many conflicts between the two sides that went far beyond the football on the pitch. The last time these two played was in 2018, with Mansfield coming out on top with a 1-0 win.

There is a Chesterfield Ladies FC, but it has no affiliation with the men’s club. They compete in the East Midlands Womens Regional Football League. See chesterfieldladiesfc.co.uk for more.

It seems the main one goes like this:

We are sailing, we are sailing
Home again, across the sea
We are sailing stormy waters
To be near you, to be free.

Why a landlocked city sings about the sea is beyond me, but it’s not a song I’ve heard elsewhere.

They also sing “We’re all Town, aren’t we?” — presumably to honor the old club name of Chesterfield Town.

Chesterfield had a legendary and historic home, Saltergate, for 139 years, making it one of the oldest grounds in England. However, as most clubs seem to do nowadays, they moved on from their historic home to make room for a bland new stadium in SMH Group Stadium. The new stadium has a capacity of just over 10,000 and consists of 4 main stands.

One thing to watch for, at least in 2025: When the home team gets a corner kick, there appears on the video screen a clip of some random dude holding his hands up in the form of a corner! It’s weird and wonderful.

Also keep an eye out for their club mascot, Chester the Field Mouse. Get it? Chester … Field?

GETTING THERE: It’s a 30-minute walk from the train station, just a bit more from the city center. From the center, you can take bus 50 (Sheffield) from Cavendish Street about seven minutes to right in front of the stadium.

PUBS: The Pig and Pump in town looks a good option, and when I was there Ye Royal Oak, which claims to be the oldest pub in town, was about to re-open. If you walk out to the ground, you’ll pass the Crown and Anchor, with a nice outdoor area, and a Greene King outlet called the Donkey Derby, also with outdoor seating. Right across the road from the ground is the Glass Works, owned by local brewery Brampton Ales, who also supply real ales in the stadium. It will have a good pregame atmosphere.

GRUB: It’s the usual fare inside, though they do offer local pies from a bakery called Jackson’s. They are above average football fare, and why more clubs don’t do this is beyond me. The best food option, though, is across the road in the food court at The Batch House. There are plenty of options, but you technically need a table to order, and those can be hard to come by on game day. Get there early. If you’re looking for a proper meal, I had a nice Italian dinner at Lombardi’s.

AROUND TOWN: Chesterfield is known for two things, neither of which is cigarettes or sofas by the way, but both of which could hardly be more English. One is its market, now three days a week around the 1857 Market Hall building, in which millennials buy mobile phones from men in turbans while pensioners sip tea because their grandparents sipped tea there. According to the town’s marketing materials, it’s a “traditional market” which makes the town a “shopper’s paradise.” No more information is given as to what these things mean. Check the website for more.

The other thing they are known for is that about 700 years ago they put a new wood-framed spire on the local parish church, and about 400 years ago they covered it in lead plating, and on at least one of those occasions they did something wrong. Somewhere along the way it began to lean and twist but not fall. I don’t know, but sincerely hope, there were old men about town who told the next generation that when they were mere lads, that spire were straight, and we loved it, but now it’s gone to shit. Of course, people eventually came to see this curiosity for themselves – the more lean and twist, the better – so at some point it became the town’s thing, and now I assume they spend many pounds not fixing it, heaven forbid, but keeping it up and just like it is, because it’s crooked and they love it. There are tours available at times.

There is also a small and reasonably charming old town center, well worth a walkabout before the game.