Derbyshire Record Office

@derbyshiredro

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

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Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· 28d

The dome of the Royal Devonshire Hospital in Buxton was built in 1880 by architect Robert Rippon Duke. Measuring over 150 feet in diameter, it was then the largest unsupported dome of its type in the world and remains the largest in Europe. #PhotoFriday #EYAArchitecture

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· 29d

Drown your football sorrows with this throwback to when it did come home: Shirebrook born Ray Wilson, the 1966 England fullback, relives his World Cup experiences in his autobiography, ‘My Life in Soccer’. Find a copy in our #LocalStudies library. #WorldCup #football

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 15

Our latest #NewAccession will be added to the Hursthouse and Smith family of Matlock archive. These cards were sent to Arthur and Ethel on their marriage in 1927. The unknown sender wrote on the backs 'Wouldn't it have been safer to join the 'Gugnunes'?' and 'Ain't she sweet?' #1920s

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'.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 15

On the #DayOfTheHorse, let's admire this incredibly patient horse - not to mention the brave dog - who posed for this photograph… #LoveHorses #dogs #horse

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 15

This lovely plan was designed by ventilation engineers Ashwell & Nesbit of Leicestershire. It shows proposed alterations to Methodist Chapel at Birchover in the early twentieth century. #EYAArchitecture #Derbyshire #Methodist

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 14

#OTD in 1941 the MV Georgic was bombed and partially sunk off Port Tewfik, Egypt. Built for the White Star Line she was a troop ship in #WWII. Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is an eye-witness account by Nelly Hodgkins, stewardess on board. #1940s

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"...

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 13

Derbyshire has such a rich geological history and many famous rock formations and sites we felt stuck between a rock and a hard place trying to choose just one photograph for #InternationalRockDay... #Dovedale #Derbyshire #PeakDistrict

Colour postcard of Lion's Head Rock at Dovedale, showing two anglers on the River Dove as it passes Lions Face Rock.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 11

As the football world celebrates the FIFA World Cup, these two photographs from the East Midlands Electricity Board Journal show A. Allcock finding the net twice in 1953. A reminder that the beautiful game thrives at every level, from local teams to the world stage. #WorldCup2026 #FootballHistory

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 10

Could this be the largest teddy bear at any picnic on #TeddyBearPicnicDay? This was The Great Literary Picnic, which started off the Derbyshire Millennium Literature Festival in 2000. We hope there’s enough sandwiches for him! #PhotoFriday

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 9

Happy wedding anniversary, Dr Johnson! On 9 July 1735, a 25-year-old Samuel Johnson of Lichfield—future dictionary compiler—married 45-year-old Elizabeth Porter of Birmingham at St Werburgh’s Church in Derby. #OnThisDay #History #SamuelJohnson

Hand written entry in a marriage register. The ink is very faded.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 9

In celebration of the annual Buxton Festival starting this week, did you know our #LocalStudies has a collection of historic show programmes and ephemera? Also past copies of Pure Peak magazine with a Festival and Fringe special in the summer. Buxton International Festival Buxton Festival Fringe

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 8

Our latest #NewAccession is a Surrender to terminate a lease of a house in Scarthin Nick, 1790. This was a street located behind the market place in Cromford, but at the time it was part of Matlock Bath, as the boundary ran along the edge of Mill Pond.

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

The unfolded document, showing a text written in ink in old handwriting.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 7

Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is a #WorldChocolateDay mystery: what comes next in this recipe for Velvet Cream With Chocolate? It's in a family scrapbook, torn from Martha Bradley's 1758 "The British Housewife". The recipe clearly continues on the next page, which isn't there... #HistRecipes

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"

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 7

Trying to avoid the World Cup? You could do worse than this fellow and take a walk in the Peak District. Fresh air, peace and quiet, and not a big screen in sight! #PeakDistrict #nature

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 6

This is a faculty from 1868 for major church works at Ashford Holy Trinity — rebuilding the north & south walls, adding a new porch, and reflooring/refitting the nave, aisles & chancel. It even includes a coloured ground plan at 2½ in to 20 ft. #EYAArchitecture #architecture #Victorian

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 3

Did you see the news about the rare copy of the #DeclarationOfIndependence captured by Capt. Thomas FitzHerbert in 1776 (www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...)? We found a letter from him in our FitzHerbert archive, so there seems to be a family link - does anyone know how they are related?

Front page of a handwritten letter, dated 20 November 1773.

Back page of the same letter. It is signed "your affectionate and obliged humble servant Thomas FitzHerbert".

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 3

Derby’s Markeaton Park originally belonged to the Mundy family of Markeaton Hall. Built in 1755 this grand house fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1964. All that is left is the orangery, now a café where you can enjoy a cuppa and cake. #EYAArchitecture

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 2

Football not your sport? Then how about a nice game of tennis? These two young players look keen! They took part in the Derbyshire Junior Lawn Tennis Championships; we’re not sure when but perhaps around the 1950-1960s. #Wimbeldon2026 #tennis

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 2

With Scotland now out of the #WorldCup26, you can still relive former Derby County Player Archie Gemmill’s 1978 World Cup goal - considered among the best in the competitions history – in his autobiography ‘Both Sides of the Border’. Find a copy in our #LocalStudies library. #1970s

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jul 1

A notebook on Spanish snails is this week’s #NewAccession. What’s the connection with Derbyshire? Well that would be the book's owner, snail expert Matilda Sophia Lovell, who lived at Calke Abbey for over 30 years, being sister-in-law to Sir John Harpur-Crewe, 9th Baronet. #snails

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.

Hand drawn illustrations of a snail and shells, some shells are of a spiral design. They are drawn using a brown ink on square sepia coloured paper. Each individual illustration is numbered. There are 10 in total.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jun 30

The archive of East Midland Motor Services Ltd and Chesterfield Corporation Transport is our #ArchiveOfTheWeek. It contains nearly 100 years of minutes, accounts, timetables, photographs and more relating to public transport in Chesterfield and north East Derbyshire. #transport #1920s

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jun 29

Trying to avoid the #WorldCup? Why not pick a colour from one of these 1970s sample books from Joseph Mason and Company, do some home decorating and watch your gleaming new walls dry… #EYAColourful #1970s

Two closed paint sample books of Joseph Mason & Co. Ltd, Derby. They are called 'Architect's Special Colour Range'.

An open page from the sample book, showing a vibrant yellow colour.

An open page from the sample book, showing a light purple colour.

An open page from the sample book, showing a dark brown colour.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jun 27

🌈 Matlock is hosting it's first Pride today! We’re working to collect more archives from LGBTQ+ communities in Derbyshire — and we’d love your help! Get in touch or share with @ourstories_derbyshire to help preserve this history. #MatlockPride #LGBTQArchives

A rainbow pride flag with a pride celebration in the background, on the flag is written the words Ay up me duck!

a stage at Matlock pride, with a performer, and a crowd of people in the foreground

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jun 26

On #NationalCanoeDay this boy is certainly making the most of his canoe in Pinxton in 1986.Unfortunately the reason he is using it is to get around during a flood, but it does prove canoes are not just for fun! #PhotoFriday #1980s

A boy paddling a canoe in through the flooded gateway of a house. A for sale board is fixed to the fence.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jun 25

How tempting is a cold plunge pool right now, mid heat wave? This one was photographed in 1927, it's the Cold Plunge Pool within the Turkish Baths at Smedley's Hydropathic Establishment in Matlock... we'd definitely skip the hot stage of the treatment this week 🥵! #heatwave

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jun 25

We were intrigued by this envelope from 1872, which has been stamped ‘too late’ by the post office. Apparently letters that were handed in after the final collection of the day received this stamp to show why they were delivered later than expected and avoid complaints about delays. #Philately

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'.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jun 25

#Gypsy Roma and Traveller History Month is the perfect time to find out more about this way of life. A fascinating book in our #LocalStudies library looks at The English Gypsy Caravan. Did you know that ‘the best vans have brass bell-mouthed frets or naf-ends on the hubs’? #EYAColourful

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jun 24

Our latest #NewAccession is this beautiful manuscript of arms and pedigrees, all written in the hand of Mr Thinne in 1569. It’s packed with exquisite penmanship and finely drawn coats of arms. A real treat for anyone who loves heraldry and early modern manuscripts!

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.

A double page of the manuscript, filled with names of people and notes on the relationship between them. All written in very beautiful but not easy to read handwriting.

In amongst notes on family relationships are two portraits of women and a coat of arms, all drawn in pen and ink.

A hand drawn coat of arms, with two quarters showing a rampant lion and the other two quarters showing a phoenix. The head of a unicorn is sticking out on from the top of the shiels.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jun 23

Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is a pen and ink drawing of a ladybird and a butterfly by Jack Bronson of Loscoe. His work was published on several occasions, both in the UK and USA. He also published a series of postcards with a D H Lawrence theme in the mid-1970s. #InsectWeek #art #ladybird #butterfly

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.

Derbyshire Record Office@derbyshiredro· Jun 22

Here is Derby County Centre Forward Jack Bowers in action in 1936. He scored 183 goals in 220 games for the team so it’s not surprising that he won 3 England Caps. We think this image would have made a great ‘Spot the Ball’ competition! #WorldCup2026 #1930s #football Derby County Football Club