Chesterfield - Queens Park
Boythorpe Road : S40 2BF
Chesterfield - Queens Park : Image credit Bicyclepedia Queens Park opened on 2nd August 1893, with a new cricket ground surrounded by a banked cinder cycle track 470 yards long and 20 feet wide. Cycle racing and cricket in Chesterfield moved from Saltergate recreation ground to Queens Park.

Chesterfield Cycling Club organised annual race meetings from the opening of the park until the 1910's. Attendance at the meetings was good, 1897 saw a crowd of 7,000. The annual meetings usually incorporated the NCU (South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire) 5 mile track Championships. The 1899 meeting attracted a crowd of 3,000 and there was great interest in the "Ladies decorated cycle and fancy dress competition".

The August 30th event of 1902 was the 10th Annual race meeting held by Chesterfield Cycling Club and featured professional riders Jeb Gascoyne and T. Davies. Gascoyne was a member of Chesterfield CC who went on to hold world track cycling records for the flying start ¼ mile and 25 miles. He also held the 2 miles unpaced tandem record and he rode a mile unpaced in 2 minutes 5 seconds. Gascoyne raced from 1896 to 1901 then emigrated to Australia. He died at Passchendaele in the First World War.

Queens Park track must have been popular with cyclists as it was reported that four cyclists were summonsed for riding "furiously" on the Queens Park track on a non-race day. The Town Clerk said that they were "running their bicycles at a speed of about tweny miles an hour." Cyclist were allowed to train on the track at 8 am. The four cyclists were fined one shilling plus costs.

There was a sports meeting on August 2nd 1922, at which there were three cycling events including the five miles NCU (S Yorks and N Debys), which was won by F Thornley of Cheshire Roads Club, the meeting attracted 6,000 spectators.

Queens Park is still a very popular park close to Chesterfield town centre. It has a sports and leisure centre, swimming pool and still hosts county cricket. Chesterfield CC changed its name to Chesterfield Spire RC in 1969.


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Photos : Bicyclepedia