Description: Showing Mill Green. (photograph of a postcard serial no. 4553). The Chesterfield Canal was built in the 1760s in order to carry lead ore from the Peak District to the River Trent. It became a major waterway before the railways were built in the 1800s. In the 20th century, with the advent of road haulage, and the collapse of the 1.5 mile Norwood tunnel in c 1903 (an engineering marvel of the 1770's), the Chesterfield canal ceased to be viable and fell into disuse. The last commercial barge sailed along the canal in the 1950s. During the 1990s the Chesterfield Canal was partially renovated with funds from a variety of sources.