Derbyshire Record Office

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Free access to 900 years of history - Derbyshire, Britain and beyond: books, archives, maps, prints and photographs. Explore online or visit us in Matlock. Website: www.derbyshire.gov.uk/recordoffice

A black and white photo of a crowded bar with smiling and laughing customers. A man with a mayor's gold chain and a lady with a flower patterned dress sit at the bar while a barman serves drinks.
Black and white photo of an elaborately decorated bicycle, made to look like a white carriage. A small boy and a woman are proudly standing in front of the spectacular bike.
A softback book comprising 170 pages of text and images. The front and back covers are green in colour. On the front cover the title appears in black ink and reads 'Tideswell People and Places Past and Present' below which is an inset collage of images of people and places within the Tideswell area. Below this is the text in black ink with the name of the author which reads 'Tony Hill Tideswell Local History Club'.
There are two black and white photos of the complete Cromford Bridge stuck to the left hand side of the plan; one in the top corner and another in the bottom corner. The plan itself (Drawing No. 132) shows the elevation of the bridge above the river. Together with the scale there is a note stating that the County Council are liable for the repair of the structure and 100 yards of approach on each side.
Inside cover of the booklet, showing a photograph of the façade of the Church, with the title 'The Story of Methodism in Kilburn 1836-1936', above. The author's name, Elizabeth Cooper, is below the photograph , with the printer's name, Tom Brown, under a line at the bottom of the page.
Black and white photograph of seven men standing on what looks like a snowy hill, but is actually the top of a very high snow drift.
A sepia photograph of the Assembly Rooms in Derby. A stone building with balustrades and windows with stone arches. A 1930s car is parked outside.
Black and white photo of four teenage girls sitting next to each other on the grass. They are all wearing dresses and hats. More children are playing on the grass further behind them and a low building stands in the background.
Front cover of the book 'The Rogue Goths. R L Roumieu, Joseph Peacock and Bassett Keeling', by Edmund Harris. It features a colour photograph of an elaborately designed red-brick building on a street in London.
Black and white photo of a 1950s Land Rover standing on a country road. A sign reading 'National Park Warden' has been affixed above the windscreen.
Cover of a parish rate book. It is landscape in shape and bound in tan leather. The word RATE is written in the centre in gold lettering, but the letter A and T are heavily worn. There are embossed swirl patterns with words The Poor Law Commission surrounding the word RATE.
Section of an architectural plan of school buildings. “Derbyshire County Council” is written at the top of the page. The outline of a rectangular classroom is drawn in portrait to the right of the page. Next to this is a space entitled “Playground asphalt”. Further down the page situated on the edge of the playground is a circular shape with “Sycamore” written inside the circle.
Cover of the leaflet called 'European Architectural Heritage Year. Events in Derbyshire', featuring illustrations of various Derbyshire buildings.
A birds-eye view of Chesterfield Courthouse. It has a double fan shape with stone cladding and tall windows.
A page from a book showing pencil drawings of the outside architecture of cottages, with small sketches of the floor plans in the right hand corner.
Front cover of a pamphlet with the title 'Careers for girls'. It features a big black and white photo of three smiling young women.
Printed letter from the Railway Benevolent Institution, headed 'Excursion of railway employes, from lines within 100 miles of Alton Towers, by the kind permission of the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot, on Saturday, July 22nd, 1871.'
A screenshot of the the first page of the pdf document of the Ticknall Parish Council Newsletter for February 2025.
Three black and white photos from the early 1900s, showing the large Victorian building the orphanage was housed in, a woodwork class for boys and a sewing class for girls.
Black and white photograph dating from the 1950s. It shows a group of children (girls and boys) in a classroom, all sitting at small tables with chess boards in between them. They are looking at the camera and all have serious expressions. At the back of the room stands a man in a suit, the school's headmaster, also looking serious.
Front page of a printed edition of Homer's Iliad from 1714. The name of the author and the title are in ancient Greek. Right at the top of the page Eleanor Anne Porden has written her name in pen.
Screenshot of the record office's online catalogue, showing various oral history collections.
The interior of the dome of the Royal Devonshire Hospital in Buxton. We can see the dome curving up with stone columns at its base. Windows go around the base with a balcony and another row of windows at that level.
Front cover of the book 'My Life in Soccer' by Ray Wilson. It features a cut-out black and white photograph of two football players against a bright blue background.
Photograph of two cards, the first featuring a colour cartoon of a boy in a blue/black tailored jacket, long white shirt, black shoes and socks, but no trousers, captioned 'The Groom. God help him', and the second a colour cartoon of a girl in a white wedding dress and veil, holding a bunch of flowers, captioned 'The Bride. God bless her'.
Black and white photograph of a horse standing on cobbled stones in front of an open stable. A small white dog is standing on its back.
Black and white plan of a small chapel. To the left is a section plan, which shows a section of the interior of the chapel, marked 'section CD'. A girder is marked on this plan. To the right is an exterior plan marked 'end elevation'. In this plan you can see the windows, including two arched windows and a small quatrefoil one in the top of the building.
A handwritten account of the bombing of the MV Georgic, beginning: "It was in the small hours of the morning of July 14th 1941. We had been in bed some hours when I was awakened by a terrific bang, I said to my room companion, "What is that 'Wattie'?", she answered that is the second one, it sounds like an air raid"...
Colour postcard of Lion's Head Rock at Dovedale, showing two anglers on the River Dove as it passes Lions Face Rock.
Somebody wearing a bear costume stands surrounded by children. A boy with face paint and holding a packet of crisps walks in front of them.
Hand written entry in a marriage register. The ink is very faded.
A collection of 3 Pure Peak magazines and 2 Buxton Fringe/Festival events programmes are displayed. The Pure Peak magazines are blue in colour and feature colourful and dynamic Derbyshire images together with text announcing a 12 page Festival Special. The Events Programmes are orange and red in colour and make a strong visual contrast to the magazines.
Folded parchment document, with a summary written on the cover, which reads: 1) Manor of Matlock 6th May 1790 Mr. Thomas Sarelbye to William Stone James Stone and John Swift Surrender
Printed (but incomplete) recipe for Velvet Cream with Chocolate: "Break a Quarter of a Pound of Chocolate to Pieces, and put it into a Quart of Cream, stir this very well about; then put in Half an Ounce of Sugar, a Stick of Cinnamon broken, and some fresh Lemon-peel shred very fine. Stir"
Landscape black and white photograph showing a wide hilltop view of rolling hills and low-lying fields. Rays of sunshine break through heavy clouds. At the top of the closest hill, a man can be seen walking towards the camera. He is a distance off and so his features cannot be seen. He appears to be wearing a hat and holding a walking stick in his right hand.
A colour photograph of a document that is made up of two pages. The front page is a coloured ground plan of the church. Behind this page is a page of handwritten text.
Front page of a handwritten letter, dated 20 November 1773.
An architect’s drawing of Markeaton Hall dated 1753. The large brick house has three tall chimneys, gables and steps leading up to the front door. It is surrounded by formal gardens and a brick wall.
Black and white photograph of two young men jumping over tennis net. They are positioned next to each other facing the camera. They are wearing white shorts and a white cable jumper. They each hold a tennis racket in their left hand. Bushes and a brick building can be seen in the background.
Front cover of the book 'Both Sides of the Border. My Autobiography' by Archie Gemmil. It features a partially black and white and partially coloured in photograph of footballers on a football pitch.
Excerpt from a notebook showing a small hand drawn illustration of a snail with shell. It is drawn using a brown ink on small square of sepia coloured paper which has been pasted into a notebook with sloping handwriting surrounding it.
Information poster by Chesterfield Corporation Tramways and Motors detailing the Fares, Stages and Stage Numbers of various bus routes in Chesterfield and district, dated July 1926.
Two closed paint sample books of Joseph Mason & Co. Ltd, Derby. They are called 'Architect's Special Colour Range'.
A rainbow pride flag with a pride celebration in the background, on the flag is written the words Ay up me duck!
A boy paddling a canoe in through the flooded gateway of a house. A for sale board is fixed to the fence.
A long narrow tiled room containing a pool of water. There are black and white geometric tiles up the side of the walls and the water is clear enough to see metro style white tiles at the bottom of the pool.
Small envelope with black border, addressed to John Harpur Crewe, Calke Abbey, Derby. The postage stamp has been normally stamped, but there is also a post office stamp which says 'Too late C.B. DE 28 London'.
The cover of the book The English Gypsy Caravan by C.H. Ward-Jackson and Denis E. Harvey. The title is in a red banner at the top of the cover and underneath is a colour photograph of a richly decorated gypsy caravan. We can see the steps going up to the door, the top half is open with yellow curtains. The caravan is red wood with gold paintwork.
Coat of arms, drawn in pen and ink. Two quarters of the design feature a lion, the other two quarters portraits of three people. A four-legged mammal is standing on top of the shield.
Black and white pen and ink drawing with a ladybird sitting on a reed to the left, with an emperor butterfly, wings outstretched to the right. The drawings are not to scale.
Black and white photograph of a football match from 1936. Two players can be seen wearing white shirts and dark shorts. One is closer to the camera and is leaping in the air from his right to left with his arms in the air. The football is in the air by his right leg. Another player can be seen in the background in the bottom right-hand corner of the image. The crowd can be seen out of focus in the background.
A close-up detail of a well dressing. We can see a rainbow over the earth with a white dove flying across the middle. We can see flower petals, leaves, moss and seeds which make up the different parts of the picture.
Front cover of the book 'John Tudor: King For A Day. One Timeless Legacy', by Angie Stanger-Leathes. It features a black and white photograph of footballers celebrating on a football pitch.
Illuminated letter 'C', to write the name 'Charles' on a deed made in name of Charles I. It features the 'Dieu et mon droit' shield with lion and unicorn inside the C, as well as lots of swirls around the outside of the letter.
A very difficult to read short handwritten text.
Photograph of a small bundle of typed letters, headed 'Transport & General Workers' Union' and 'National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers' and dated from the 1960s.
Internal page from a school register, landscape in shape. The paper is sepia coloured with printed columns and boxes with headings. Some of these have been filled with handwritten information. At the top of the page is the school name Herbert Strutt School, Belper. Underneath is the surname Deknock and first name Irina.
Small printed card entitled 'Hope United Football Club. Season 1919-20. It lists all the names of the president, patrons and committee members, as well as the team's colours: 'White shirts, blue knickers'. The left and right sides can be folded out from the middle, to reveal the printed information inside.
Drawing of a man, with moustache and beard, and a green suit. It has has been coloured in with water colours. In the bottom right corner of the paper are written the words 'Yours truly'.