This small industrial town, five miles east of Chesterfield, offers a striking visual contrast between what was and what is today. Down in the valley is all the evidence of the mining industry and its offshoots which make the town important today, while perched on a wooded eminence above the town stands the castle.
The original castle was built in Norman times by William Peveril, but the building which occupies the site today, in the care of English Heritage and open to the public, was built in the early 17th century by Sir Charles Cavendish. The date of its building makes this one of England's most curious castles, for this was not a time when men felt the need, as they had done 500 years earlier, to build fortresses for themselves. It is thought, indeed, that Sir Charles' main intention must have been to re-create the atmosphere of times gone by. That he succeeded is there for all to see today. Although his castle has battlements and turrets, it also has two pretty cupolas, picturesque riding stables, and rooms with names like the "Star Chamber" and the "Heaven Room".
In 1633 Charles I and his Queen, Henrietta Maria de Bourbon, were lavishly entetained here by Lady Shrewsbury's (Bess of Hardwick), grandson...William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle, before the building was completed.
Also worth a visit in Bolsover is the Parish Church of St Mary. It was gutted by fire towards the end of the last century and much reconstruction work had to be done, but the 13th century grey-stone tower escaped the flames, and inside is a large relief sculpture of the Nativity, which is also 13th century.
Once a huddle of tumble down farm buildings, incorporating nineteenth century stone cottages, Bolsover's Cavendish Walk recreates a Victorian yard with gas lamps, wrought iron gates and cobble stones. An ideal place to shop whether it be for home cured ham, locally grown fruit and vegetables or freshly baked bread.
High Street, Bolsover is literally the highest street in town. Houses perch precariously on the edge of the Scarsdale valley, six hundred feet above sea level. Vicitors are recommended to wander down this quiet throughfare which leads from parish church to castle and gaze at some of the Georgian domestic architecture remaining in the town. High Street also contains the earlisest congregational chapel in Derbyshire complete with hand made bricks and twin gabled roof.
No visitor to Bolsover should leave without visiting New Bolsover, the Model village at the bottom of the hill, nestling in the shadow of the castle. This is perhaps the finest example anywhere of a colliery village architecture and in a superb situation. The original scheme included two hundred houses, school, chapel, institute, orphanage and Co-Operative stores...even its own tub railway taking coal from colliery to cottages.
Enclosed on three sides by a large tree lined village green, New Bolsover has a semi-rural character. Because of its historical and architectural importance the model village is 'listed' and widely known as an example of enlightened industrial domestic planning. It has recently been restored by English Heritage and Bolsover District Council.
