The camera never lies…

The 19th of August 2022 is World Photography Day (also known as World Photo Day) where photographs of all kinds are celebrated, shared and enjoyed. Of course in our Local Studies collection we have hundreds of wonderful images both old and new. Many of these, plus others from collections in Derbyshire and Derby City Libraries …

The Escape of General Exelmans and Colonel de la Grange

I wrote previously on the Napoleonic officers held as prisoners of war in Chesterfield. Whilst there were many interesting stories that came from that topic, I thought it best to tell of the story that first inspired my research into the prisoners at Chesterfield. That story is the escape of General Joseph Exelmans and Colonel …

#PhotoFriday Digest – July

Once again it's time for our monthly round up of #PhotoFriday tweets, where we look at images from the local studies collections across the county, which you can find on www.picturethepast.org.uk . We started July with a smile on our faces on International Joke Day. A day designed to encourage laughter seemed a good opportunity to share …

July’s Twitter Digest

Welcome to the Twitter Digest for July! And in Matlock, we also had a few sunny / sweltering days last month. So, in the hope of an Indian Summer, if you should find yourself needing to cool down, just imagine yourself on an 1820s arctic expedition, cutting a path through the ice for your ships. …

Napoleonic Prisoners of War in Chesterfield

The number of prisoners of war captured during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars with France was unlike those seen previously in British campaigns. By 1809, after over fifteen years of war, the numbers had risen to a staggering 40,000, which was just over three times the population of Derby at the time. In the early …

My Work Experience Week

Today's post comes from Sam, a pupil at Highfields School, Matlock, who recently spent a week on work experience at Derbyshire Record Office. Here's their story ... I have really enjoyed my time here at Derbyshire Record Office for my work experience. I knew it would be something I would be interested in because I really like …

“Every day is chocolate day…”

As someone recently said to me "every day is chocolate day!" But if you need an excuse to indulge then there is no better day than 7th July - World Chocolate Day. So (pretending that I needed an excuse) I reached for my latest favourite recipe book in our Local Studies collection, the 1954 'Derbyshire …

#PhotoFriday Digest – June

Once again it's time for our monthly round up of #PhotoFriday tweets, where we look at images from the local studies collections across the county, which you can find on www.picturethepast.org.uk . The main event for June was of course the celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. So our first #PhotoFriday of the month took us back …

Anyone for tennis….. cake?

Amongst the books in our Local Studies collection is the 'Derbyshire Federation of Women's Institutes recipe book', dated 1954. This was donated to the library over twenty years ago and it's certainly not the prettiest book in our collection. The cover is a bit tatty, the pages are stained and there are handwritten notes throughout, …

June’s Twitter Digest

Welcome to the Twitter Digest for June, and no prizes for guessing that there's something of a Royal theme this month. Our Archive Of The Week noted that Apperknowle Board School celebrated our Queen’s Silver Jubilee with country dancing and a fancy cake. We even highlighted some of those held at one of Her Majesty's …