Tapton House Chesterfield Geograph-3363725-by-Stephen-Richards

Tapton House, in Tapton,

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, England, was once the home of engineer

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...

, who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives. In its time Tapton has been a gentleman's residence, a ladies' boarding school and a co-educational school. Tapton House grounds are now open for free use by the general public of Chesterfield to walk around and visit the Tapton Gardens. The grounds are also shared with the Tapton Park Innovation Centre. The House itself is now rented out as offices by Chesterfield Borough Council, and is a Grade II* listed building.

History

Tapton House was constructed in the late 18th century by the Wilkinson family of bankers, who also helped fund the construction of the

Chesterfield Canal The Chesterfield Canal is a narrow canal in the East Midlands of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was one of the last of the canals designed by James Brindley, who died while it was being constructed. It was opened in 1777 a ...

. English mechanical engineer

, builder of the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives, leased the house from the family from 1832 until his death in 1848. The house then was bought by

Charles Paxton Markham Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, Director of

Staveley Coal and Iron Company The Staveley Coal and Iron Company Limited was an industrial company based in Staveley, near Chesterfield, North Derbyshire. History The company was registered in 1863, appearing in provincial stock exchange reports from 1864. It exploited loc ...

and three times Mayor of the town, in 1871 and became the family home until 1925, when he gave the of parkland to the Borough of Chesterfield. The borough turned the house into a school and in 1931, the first pupils passed through its doors as Tapton House Central Selective School. After the Second World War it became a co-educational grammar school, Tapton House Grammar School. The school continued to teach students until 1993 when it closed. After refurbishment in September 1994 it became a College of Further and Higher Education for the people of Chesterfield and the surrounding area, known as The Tapton House Campus of Chesterfield College. The College returned the building to the Borough Council in 2018. It is currently rented out as office space.

George Stephenson (1781–1848)

George Stephenson, born in 1781, had already become a nationally known figure before he came to Chesterfield in the 1830s to construct the

North Midland Railway The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840. At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what ...

which stretches from

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. His son Robert designed the historically important steam locomotive named

Rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

for the Rainhill Trials at Liverpool in 1829. He became so attached to Chesterfield that he spent the rest of his life in the area. Tapton House was his home for the last ten years of his life, until his death in August 1848 at the age of 67. Stephenson was buried in the Holy Trinity Church on Newbold Road, Chesterfield.

Tapton Park Innovation Centre

The centre developed out of a partnership between Chesterfield Borough Council, North Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce and North Derbyshire Training and Enterprise Council.Official Tapton Park Innovation Centre's website
/ref> As well as funding from the partners the scheme was supported by the

Single Regeneration Budget Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. The futuristic building reflects the forwards thinking of George Stephenson. It is designed to provide modern accommodation to stimulate innovation and nurture growth amongst technology- and knowledge-based business. The centre has 39 rooms, 10 "rent-a-desks" and, following its opening in spring 1997, accommodates more than 40 companies.

Peace Gardens

Opened in August 1947 by Mayor, Councillor Miss Florence Robinson, the gardens were constructed by the Parks Department Under the supervision of Mr J. E. Tindale, Park Superintendent.

Castle Hill

This is an earth mound believed to be the site of a

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

. The earth mound or motte would have been the site of the shell keep, being several buildings surrounded by heavy wooden palisade. Around 600 castles of this type are recorded and were built between 1000 and 1200 AD. The castle was incorporated within the grounds of Tapton House in the late 17th century.

References

External links

Tapton Park golf clubPeak District profile on Tapton House
{{coord, 53.2450, N, 1.4138, W, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Derbyshire Grade II* listed buildings in Derbyshire Buildings and structures in Chesterfield, Derbyshire