The Sun.
London, England, 1837-06-09 00:00:00

TNTELLIGx,NCE.

LITERATer—
S.—CoycLunED.
THE HISTORY OF CHEST
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Tiomas Ford, 1837.
We have received the first four Numbimeetings.::lns bauuttistras
and handsomely illustrated-history of this ilerY superior chit-
ren .an
-'1 d the towns and hamlets in its viu'"„...arnuch th t
Jt sport m, haft
t might
haft
in a style highly creditable to the provincial
of England. The engravings are numerous and Ileain Pn=4o
ve.
executed ; and the work, when completed will forma lic
otht
useful addition to our topographical literature. The ,e 4
first Number is embellished with a view of the High-
street, Chesterfield, studded with sundry bipeds and
quadrupeds, apparently moving in various directions ;
with a number of rather " business-like" looking dames
in the foreground, evidently employed in inspecting
the contents of a few well-filled market-baskets.. A
jolly-looking old fellow in a waggon has entrusted the
reins to a fair-fellow traveller, that he may expatiate
with more freedom on the scene before him. In the
distance the mailcoach comes whirling along at a
deuce of a pace ; and more remote still stands the
Church, displaying to every eye that most singular
of optical delusions—if it be in reality delusion
a crooked spire. The cost of this engraving and
twenty-four pages of letter-press is only sixpence,
and the o!her Numbers are all proportionately cheap.
We select an extract—premising that we might choose
others much better in themselves, big from their
length unsuited to our columns :
" Chesterfield, anciently called Cestrefeld, is a town of
some trading importance, but irregularly built, chiefly of
bricks. It is pleasantly situated on the confluence of two ri-
vers, the :Wpm and the Rother. It is built on the south side
of a hill, in a fertile soil, twenty-four miles from the county
town of Derby. It is in the diocese of Lichfield; is tit's
chief town in the hundred of Scarsdale, and the second in
rink in the county; and is one of the only two corporate
towns in Derbyshire. The whole district around Chesterfield
is exceedingly rich in valuable minerals. The town itself
stands upon an extensive coal field; its position, therefore, is
a favourable one, and its manufacturing resources are great.
Among the strata that compose what arc usually called the
" cJal formations," are found numerous and valuable beds of
ironstone ; and the abundance of material by which the town
is surrounded, admirably adapt it to manufacturing purposes.
" Chesterfield has long been more or less connected with the
popular family of Cavendish, to whose ducal domains so many
of its inhabitants, and so many of the neighbouring tenantry,
arc happy in boasting their attachment. It is about two miles
from Whittington, where in 1688, under the direction of an
eminent Cavendish, a plan was laid, which eventually placed
the illustrious family of Hanover on the throne of these realms.
Chesterfield is situated in the northern part of the County of
Derby. It was included in the Roman province, Flavia
Cmsgriensis, which was inhabited by the Coritani. Daring
the Saxon Heptarchy, it formed a part of the kingdom of
Mercia, but its origin is so remote, that nothing but conjec-
tural hints can be given respecting it. Those however who
have devoted most attention to the subject, suppose it to have
originated in a Roman encampment or station, situated on an
eminence called Topton or Topton, at the point now named
Windmill Hill ; but distinguished in several ancient writings
by the appellation of Castle Hill."