Tapton House

Tapton House, situated in Tapton, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, was once the home of English mechanical engineer George Stephenson who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives. Tapton grounds are now used for the Tapton Park Innovation Centre which is open to the public and the building itself is currently the higher education campus for Chesterfield College.

History of Tapton House

Tapton House was built in the late 18th century by the Wilkinson family,bankers who helped fund the construction of the Chesterfield Canal.

Tapton house was leased to George Stephenson in 1838 until his death in 1848. In 1971 it was bought by Charles Markham Director of Staveley Coal Company and three times Mayor of the town. It became the family home until 1925, when he give the 200 acres ofparkland to the borough.

In 1931, the first pupils passed through its doors as Tapton House Central Selective School. The school continued until 1993. After refurbishment in September 1994 it became a College of further and higher education for the people of Chesterfield and the surrounding area (The Tapton Campus of Chesterfield College).

George Stephenson (1781-1848)

George Stephenson, born in 1781, had already become a nationally famous figure before he came to Chesterfield in the 1930s to construct the North Midland Railway which stretches 72 miles from Derby to Leeds. He designed the famous and historically important steam locomotive named 'Rocket' and was so instrumental in developing the British railway network that he has been dubbed the 'Father of Railways', although other great pioneers also merit a similar sobriquet.

He came so attached to Chesterfield that he spent the rest of his life here, until his death in August 1848, at Tapton House which had been his home for the last ten years of his life. He was 67 years of age. George Stephenson was buried in the Holy Trinity Church on Newbold Road, Chesterfield, where he had been a regular worshipper since moving to Chesterfield in 1838 to pursue business interests.His body was placed in a vault beneath the Holy Table and the grave is marked only by a rough slab of Derbyshire stone flooring on which appears the simple legend 'G. S. 1848'.

As a tribute to his life and works, a bronze statue of Stephenson was unveiled at Chesterfield railway station (which is overlooked by Tapton House, where Stephenson spent the last ten years of his life) on 28 October 2005, marking the completion of improvements to the station. At the event a full-size working replica of the Rocket was on show, which then spent two days on public display at the Chesterfield Market Festival.

Stephenson's portrait appeared on Bank of England £5 notes between 1990 and 2003.

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. As well as funding from the partners the scheme was supported by the single Regeneration Budget and European Union.

The futuristic building reflects the forwards thinking of George Stephenson. It is designed to provide modern accommodation to single 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 1997accommodates over 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 Bailey castle. 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 builtbetween 1000 and 1200 AD.The castle was incorporated within the grounds of Tapton House in the late 1600s

Related material

*George Stephenson
*Chesterfield
*Chesterfield College

Related Sites

* [http://www.tapton.co.uk/ Official Tapton Park Innovation Centre's website]
* [http://www.taptonparkgolfclub.co.uk/ Tapton Park golf club]
* [http://www.peakdistrictview.com/?page=place&placeid=1649 Peak District profile on Tapton House]
* [http://www.peakdistrictview.com/resource/view_pano.php?panoid=1205 Panoramic Photographs #1]
* [http://www.peakdistrictview.com/resource/view_pano.php?panoid=1206 Panoramic Photographs #2]
* [http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=tapton&sll=53.236147,-1.424189&sspn=0.046799,0.049181&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=53.253122,-1.415219&spn=0.02339,0.02459&om=1&iwloc=addr Goggle Maps ]
* [http://www.oldtaptonians.co.uk/ A website about Tapton School]