The dark and murky past of a quaint Chesterfield house where a plot to overthrow the king was devised

As unrest gripped the country James II was on the throne.

A spokesperson for Chesterfield Borough Council, which now runs Revolution House in Old Whittington, explains the events which unfolded in the humble cottage: "In 1688, three local noblemen – the Earl of Devonshire, the Earl of Danby and Mr John D'Arcy – met at Whittington disguised as a hunting party, to begin planning their part in the overthrow of James II. A rainstorm sent them seeking shelter at the Cock and Pynot alehouse."

Between them, they raised support in the North and Midlands, and planned to offer the Crown to James’ daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William.

William and Mary landed at Torbay in November 1688. The country rose in support and James fled to France.

This group devised the plans to extend the invitation to William of Orange in 1688, so the Whig party brought about the fall of James II and the succession of the Protestant William III. This change in the monarchy came to be known as the Glorious Revolution.

The Revolution was over, but the alehouse in the suburb of Whittington still stands, with its thatched roof and flower border, and its intriguing name – Revolution House.

There is a public house in Old Whittington which is called the Cock and Magpie. This public house was founded in 1790 when the old 'Cock and Pynot' was converted into a cottage.

The local vicar, Samuel Pegge, was amongst about fifty dignitaries who met at Revolution House in 1788 on the centennial of the Glorious Revolution, while it was still an alehouse. The procession was led by the Duke of Devonshire, the Duchess and the Mayor of Chesterfield.

Today, Chesterfield’s Revolution House is a free public museum and has a display of 17th Century furniture, a video on the Revolution of 1688.

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