When truth may be stranger than fiction?

Record Office volunteer Roger Jennens sets the scene for a Victorian melodrama. Consider this rich Victorian narrative. Does this accumulation of events seem plausible? The story begins with the birth of the heroine: a collier’s daughter born in a small village located on the border of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. As a young woman she is …

Free talk: Derbyshire Diaries

Join our Local Studies Librarian on Tuesday 3 March at 2pm here at the Record Office in Matlock for a free talk in which you'll delve into Derbyshire’s past by eavesdropping on some of the personal diaries written by its residents and visitors. There will be readings from some of the published diaries held in …

Historical handwriting exhibition

If you do any type of historical research you will no doubt have encountered the challenge of trying to read old handwriting. If you’ve ever wondered why handwriting looked so different a few hundred years ago, we have a new online exhibition on Google Arts and Culture that tells that story: 800 Years of English …

Shrovetide Football in 1925

If you're planning to go to the annual Shrovetide Football game in Ashbourne today, but you're worried it might get a bit wet - this is what the game was like in 1925! Did you know we're now on Twitter? Follow us on @FranklinArchive 

“He shall be happy to facilitate an interview with you whenever it may be convenient to both parties”

There is something endearingly Romantic about the fact that the Arctic explorer John Franklin came to meet his first wife, the poet Eleanor Anne Porden, through the medium of poetry. It was not the traditional Valentine poem that either of them caught the other’s attention. In some senses it would not have been unexpected if …

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A treat from our Franklin collection: the Valentine poem Eleanor Porden wrote in 1823 for her fiancé, John Franklin. We’re very lucky to have two versions – here’s the original draft: And here is the letter she sent him on 14 February 1823, with her handwriting 'disguised': The symbols on the letter (presumably purporting to …

Time to Talk Day 2020

This Thursday is national Time to Talk Day when thousands of people around the country will be coming together in their communities, workplaces and schools to get the nation talking about mental health. Time to Talk Day is a chance for all of us to choose to talk about mental health and to encourage our …

Did You Know?

Films don’t appear in the 1911 Copyright Act. Before this date, an original fiction film qualified as a dramatic work. For non-fiction films, the individual frames qualified for copyright protection as photographs.

My Personal Connection to Rhyl Miners’ Holiday Camp

I’ve known about Rhyl Miner’s Camp in North Wales for most of my life. A photograph of my mum aged about 4 with my grandma whilst on holiday there has been on our wall since forever. The picture must have been taken in around 1951 or 1952. Whilst the pair look happy and my mum …