[9] Elizabeth I granted a charter in either 1594 or 1598,[2] creating a corporation of a mayor, six aldermen, six brethren, and twelve capital burgesses.

[citation needed] During the work, a sizeable seam of coal was discovered while the Clay Cross Tunnel was constructed.

[15] At the lower tier, housing, planning, refuse collection and burial grounds are provided by Chesterfield Borough Council.

[19] The blazon of the arms is as follows: Gules a Device representing a Pomegranate Tree as depicted on the ancient Common Seal of the Borough the tree leaved and eradicated proper flowered and fructed Or and for the Crest on a Wreath of the Colours Issuant from a Mural Crown Gules Masoned Or a Mount Vert thereon a Derby Ram passant guardant proper.

[20] The crest depicts a Derby Ram, representing the county of Derbyshire, and a mural crown, suggestive of a town wall and thus borough status.

[20] In March 2016 the borough council began a bid to join the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, which was due to receive devolved powers.

Between 1981 and 2002, 15,000 jobs in the coal industry were lost[28] and all collieries closed, although open cast mining took place at Arkwright Town for a few years from November 1993.

[31] Dema Glass's factory near Lockoford Lane closed; the site is now host to a Tesco supermarket and the Proact Stadium, the home of Chesterfield Football Club.

Robinson's, makers of paper-based packaging,[34] divested its health-care interests, which led to a marked fall in the workforce and facilities in Chesterfield.

Trebor, once based on Brimington Road near Chesterfield railway station, merged with Bassetts sweets of Sheffield, was later taken over by Cadbury and relocated to a modern unit at Holmewood business park.

Business located on the estate includes SIG plc subsidiary Warren Insulations, Franke Sisons Ltd (founded in 1784 in Sheffield and among the first to manufacture stainless steel kitchen sinks in the 1930s), Rhodes Group and Chesterfield Felt.

[citation needed] Between the A61 and Brimington Road, there is a 40-acre (160,000 m2) development site resulting from Arnold Laver relocating to a modern sawmill at Halfway, near Sheffield.

The Royal Mail's Pensions Service Centre is near the town in Boythorpe Road, in Rowland Hill House, which also serves other administrative functions.

In the middle of town, a collection of narrow medieval streets makes up The Shambles, which houses the Royal Oak, one of Britain's oldest pubs.

An enclosed bridge links the site to a multi-storey car park built at the same time, adjacent to the town's coach station.

In annual figures compiled by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy it ranked fifth in the UK for number of loans in 2008, rising one place on the previous year.

On 27 June 2007, the Somerfield store in the Precinct was gutted in a fire in which the roof collapsed, a few shoppers suffering minor injuries.

The Winding Wheel, hitherto an Odeon Cinema, is a venue for concerts, exhibitions, conferences, dinners, family parties, dances, banquets, wedding receptions, meetings, product launches and lectures.

The Royal Mail building, Future Walk, in West Bars, was once the site of Chetwynd House, referred to locally as the AGD.

[56] Other artworks of note include A System of Support and Balance by Paul Lewthwaite, outside Chesterfield Magistrates' Court.

The A617 links to Mansfield, the A619 provides an entry point to the Peak District (eventually joining the A6 near Bakewell) and the A632 connects Bolsover with Matlock.

Folklore recounts that a Bolsover blacksmith mis-shod the Devil, who leapt over the spire in pain, knocking it out of shape.

Realistically, the lean has been ascribed to an absence of skilled craftsmen just 12 years after the Black Death, the use of unseasoned timber or insufficient cross-bracing.

[64] Another explanation is that it was caused by heat expansion after the 17th-century addition of 33 tons of lead sheeting to the spire, resting on 14th-century bracing not designed to carry such weight.

The club formerly played at the Recreation Ground (usually referred to as Saltergate after the road on which it was located), but moved to a new stadium on the old Dema Glass site north of the town in Whittington Moor at the start of the 2010–11 season.

[75] The side has typically been mid-table or battled against relegation until its greatest success, when it recruited the Australian import striker Adam Clifford from Tasmania.

During his two seasons Clifford scored over 50 goals and Chesterfield narrowly lost the league in the final weeks by a single point.

In October 2011 it began delivering the programme for Derventio eXcel (Performance Swim Squad for Derbyshire) for the North East of the county.

In 2012, Chesterfield SC took part in the Arena National Swimming League and achieved promotion to the top division at the first attempt.

[80] Queen's Park, just outside the town centre, recently benefitted from a multimillion-pound programme of investment, allowing it to host county cricket again.