Chesterfield and its famous church.

Today I had to take a Ford Mondeo to Chesterfield for a taxi test, arriving early I had time to take a few photographs before my appointment. Naturally, the famous crooked spire of the town's parish church, St Mary and All the Saints was bound to take centre stage.

It used to be claimed that the cause of the spire's crookedness was that the builders in the 14th century used wood that had not been properly seasoned for the framework. However, recent research has suggested that the malformation took place later, when the original  wooden tiles were replaced with heavier slate tiles which the timbers were not intended to support.

Of course there is more to Chesterfield than a church with a wonky spire, The Royal Oak, an inn since the 17th century, was originally a rest house for the Knights Templar.

The town was granted a market charter by King John in 1204 and the open air market continues to thrive in the large Market Place square.