National Union of Miners Offices

The National Union of Miners Offices is a trade union office building with attached dwellings, constructed in 1893, with minor alterations in the late 20th century. Designed by Rollinson and Sons, architects, of Chesterfield, it is built of smooth red brick with ashlar sandstone dressings, coped gables, partially stepped, and a Welsh slated roof. The building is an example of a simplified Flemish Renaissance style, laid out in an L-plan with the taller office range facing Saltergate and a subsidiary range facing Clarence Road.

The north (front) elevation consists of two storeys and seven bays. The central five bays are symmetrical, with a slightly advanced entrance bay featuring a crow-stepped gable. The entrance has a double door with an arched overlight and ashlar frieze. Pilasters flank the entrance, extending to the head of the first-floor window and supporting a semi-circular arch containing the window above. Upper-floor windows have arched heads and cross frames with glazing bars, while lower-floor openings are arched. At the east end is a gabled range with a full-height canted bay window and a set-back arched doorway.

The west (side) elevation has a broad gable with first-floor windows flanking a projecting chimney stack with a corbelled base. A single-bay lean-to link connects to a lower three-bay house with a gable to the left and a canted ground floor bay window. The house’s central doorway is accompanied by a square bay to the right.

The interior features a council chamber with panelling, bench seating, and a plaque inscribed "N.U.M. Derbyshire Area" above a relief of a miner at work, installed in 1955. An entrance hall includes panelled doors with etched and coloured glass, and a stone staircase with wrought iron balusters.

The Derbyshire Miners Association was founded in 1880 and established its headquarters in Chesterfield with purpose-built offices and accommodation for the General Secretary and his assistant. The building was officially opened on June 24, 1893.

This is a rare example of a 19th-century purpose-built trade union office, serving as the focal point for the organisation and management of union activities in a productive coalfield. It forms a group with the adjacent statues of the first General Secretary, James Haslam, and the local MP, W.E. Harvey.