Essential electrical maintenance work will be taking place at the Record Office from 29 April to 10 May 2019.
This may result in some disruption to the retrieval of the historical documents from our stores.
If you’re planning to visit us during these dates, we strongly advise that you contact us in advance of your visit, then we can let you know whether we’ll be able to access the original records you’re wishing to view.
While Derbyshire Record Office rarely buys documents, much like No. 33 buses, another find has popped up at auction and we’ve made another exception.
This time for three ledgers detailing the accounts of George Beeland’s wholesale drapers and cloth merchants business, which traded from 23 Iron Gate, Derby throughout the 1850s.
George Beeland originally ran this business in partnership with William Henry Wood. However, when they went their separate ways at the start of 1850, Beeland continued the business as sole owner until 1862.
Stephen Glover, in his History and Directory of the Borough of Derby, notes the partner’s started trading from Iron Gate in 1849. It even appears that George may have come from a family of drapers. Various trade directories record a William Beeland, draper trading from Iron Gate as early as 1843.
When Beeland and Wood established the business in 1849, there was also a George Beeland, draper and a William Beeland junior, woollen draper and tailor, both on Iron Gate. William Beeland senior, a draper, traded from 57 Friar Gate, together with perhaps his wife and daughter (Mrs. & Miss Beeland) who ran a millinery and dress rooms from the same address.
If you’d like to these account books, just come and visit us and ask for D8172.
We’ll be running another of our Beginner’s Guide to Copyright sessions at Derbyshire Record Office at 2 pm TOMORROW.
What can you do? What can’t you do? What is right and what is copyright?
The session will help you understand the basic principles of Copyright law as well as recent changes to the regulations, and where that leaves heritage and community groups who wish to publish or display images and articles, or anything else which may be under copyright.
Tickets are £3, which is payable upon entry.
To book a place, please use our Eventbrite Page
We’ll be running another of our Beginner’s Guide to Copyright sessions at Derbyshire Record Office at 10 am on Thursday 21st April.
What can you do? What can’t you do? What is right and what is copyright?
The session will help you understand the basic principles of Copyright law as well as the most recent changes to the regulations, and where that leaves heritage and community groups who wish to publish or display images and articles, or anything else which may be under copyright.
Tickets are £3, which is payable upon entry.
To book a place, please use our Eventbrite Page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/mytickets/508685274/
A lowly university student, panic-stricken and preceding her third and final year of studying Archaeology and Ancient Civilizations, it suddenly dawned on me… I need to decide what I want to do with my life!
The summer was fast approaching and I knew it would be the best (and last) real opportunity I would have to fully commit myself to work experience before having to decide which career path I would like to follow. I’ve always thought of working in the heritage sector, as history and learning are my passion and also the basis of my degree. In addition, I’m also extremely interested in local history, as I’ve grown up with parents who encouraged and fuelled this interest. Therefore, when searching through the options available, I came across Derbyshire Record Office in Matlock. I’ve always been interested in archives but, to be completely honest, was not too sure what it really meant to be an ‘archivist’. However, I was curious and intrigued to find out.
I got in touch with the Record Office and was put forward to Paul Beattie. We communicated via email and phone and he helped me to plan my volunteering around university and my part-time job. The Record Office were extremely flexible and helpful when it came to actually planning the time in which I could volunteer, basically leaving it to my discretion, which was tremendously accommodating for somebody like myself with such a busy schedule.
While volunteering, I was able to experience all areas available at the Record Office, including; the archives, local studies and conservation. I worked with various members of staff, all who were incredibly friendly, helpful and skilled at their jobs. I was able to experience: box-listing, cataloguing using archival software CALM, using microfilms, heat-set repair techniques on documents and many more equally exciting and new tasks. I received talks by different departments on; record keeping, conservation, archival projects, microfilm, special archives and more. I was also even lucky enough to view a few of the wonders of the archive – my personal favourite being Beatrix Potter’s grandad’s fabric books, which are breathtakingly beautiful and well preserved. While I was there, I was given the opportunity to delve into every area available and spend time where I enjoyed the most – this, in particular, really made my time spent at the Record Office, worthwhile and irreplaceable, as it accommodated my interests but also allowed me to explore other areas I had not considered before.
My time spent volunteering at Derbyshire Record Office has been both memorable and invaluable. I was welcomed warmly by all staff, given interesting and exciting tasks to complete that were accustomed to my own interests, and I was made to feel instantly ‘at home’. The people I met were highly skilled professionals who are accomplished at their jobs and more than willing to teach volunteers valuable skills that they can take away from the experience. They were also kind enough to answer my persistent questions about career opportunities and pathways and even gave me information and sources to look further into. I am immensely grateful to everybody at DRO for offering me their time and wisdom this summer. I know that my time spent volunteering has definitely helped bring clarity to my mind over the path to reaching my desired career. Thank you so much.
Kerry Edwards
We’ll be running another of our Guide to Copyright sessions at Derbyshire Record Office at 10 am on Wednesday 1st July.
The session will help you understand the basic principles of Copyright law as well as the recent changes to the regulations, and where that leaves heritage and community groups who wish to publish or display images and articles, or anything else which may be under copyright. What can you do? What can’t you do? What is right and what is copyright?
Tickets are £3, which is payable upon entry.
To book a place, please give us a call on 01629 538347.
You are welcome to attend a Guide to Copyright talk, which will take place at Derbyshire Record Office next Thursday, the 12th March, at 10 am.
There you can find out:
What is Copyright?
What does it cover?
What we can and can’t do under Copyright.
Is your material still ‘in Copyright’?
And how it can be used.
Tickets are £3, which is payable upon entry.
To book a place, please call 01629 538347.
Helen Ellis, a long-serving member of the Record Office team, left us on 30th January 2015 after 11 years of service, to follow paths anew.
Helen had previously worked as an Assistant at Newbold Library, but it is her commitment to the job and the knowledge which she brought to Derbyshire Record Office, both in archives and with local studies, which has made Helen such a valued member of staff.
Helen is setting up as an independent researcher in the near future, but will be sorely missed by all at DRO.
We would like to thank you, Helen, for your dedication and hard work. We wish you every success in your new job, and look forward to hopefully seeing you again from time to time.
Help the Campaign to provide greater access to important historical works through copyright law reform.
Everyone who cares about our history, everyone who cares about telling our collective story without restrictions, please read on. Continue reading
Derbyshire Record Office will soon be relocating to the Crèche Building, situated in the lower car park of County Hall, Matlock.
The service will be closed between 12 and 30 September 2011, re-opening at on Monday 3 October 2011.
Access to documents will be split between the Crèche Building and the Derbyshire Local Studies Library. Continue reading
