Plaque marking Chesterfield's rail heritage to be installed at Wetherspoon pub after campaign

The announcement follows a campaign spearheaded by Chesterfield Civic Society to install the blue plaque at the site of the Portland Hotel Wetherspoon pub on West Bars.

East Midlands Railway awarded the society a grant of £1,000 in January to cover the cost of two plaques connected with the railway history of Chesterfield.

The first is due to replace an existing plaque on North Midland House which displays the wrong date of construction. The second plaque will be installed at the Portland Hotel to commemorate the former Market Place Station.

The Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway's Market Place station, next to the Portland Hotel, was opened in 1897 and closed to passengers in 1951. After some years as a paint and carpet warehouse it was ultimately demolished in 1973.

Philip Riden, chairman of the Chesterfield Civic Society, explained that the Portland was built in 1899 by Stones Brewery of Sheffield in part as refreshment rooms for the station next door. The plaque will commemorate both the hotel and the station.

The hotel was designed by the Sheffield architect James Ragg Wigfull but the architect of the station (and other stations on the line) has only recently been identified as Cole Alfred Adams. He was a London architect related by marriage to the railway company’s solicitor, Dixon Henry Davies, who lived in Ashgate.

It will read: “Portland Hotel. Opened 1899. Architect James Ragg Wigfull (1864–1936). To the right of this plaque stood the Chesterfield Market Place station of the Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway. Opened 1897. Closed 1951. Demolished 1973.”

Philip said: ‘We are delighted that we can now go ahead with these two plaques, thanks to the support of all concerned, including the Derbyshire Times, which has helped to smooth the way with Wetherspoons as owners of the Portland. We hope that both plaques will be unveiled later this year.”

Philip stressed how grateful the Civic Society is to Wetherspoons for their cooperation, Spire Insurance Services for permission to replace the plaque on North Midland House, and EMR for a grant from their community fund.