Saltergate - Cricket and Other Uses

Cricket and Other Uses

Saltergate was also home to Chesterfield Cricket Club from 1871 to 1894.

There are records of six cricket matches involving teams called Derbyshire or Chesterfield playing against the All-England Eleven from 1858 to 1872. The first four of these would have been held at Chesterfield Cricket Club's first Recreation Ground site, 100 yards closer to the town; however Chesterfield Cricket Club played a United South of England Eleven in September 1871 and an All-England Eleven in September 1872 after the move to the New Recreation Ground, Saltergate.

Derbyshire County Cricket Club, founded in 1870, staged two first-class matches at Saltergate. The first was a county match versus Lancashire in August 1874, which was drawn after the final day was rained off. The other opponents were the United North of England Eleven in August 1875, which the UNEE won by 90 runs. First-class cricket returned to Chesterfield in 1898 when Derbyshire began playing at the Queen's Park ground which is still in use. This location has also been the home of Chesterfield Cricket Club since its departure from Saltergate.

The stadium was also used on occasion to host rugby matches, concerts and community events.

In the 2009 film, The Damned United, Saltergate stood in for Wembley Stadium, Carrow Road, Bloomfield Road and most prominently, Derby County's Baseball Ground (demolished in 2003). The ground was chosen because it had not had any significant modifications since the 1970s, though some repainting work was done by the production team to differentiate the various locations represented. Saltergate's film role earnt the club added income of £50,000 in 2007-08.