March’s Social Media Digest

To get off on the right note for March, which is Women's History Month, our Archive of the Week thread turned to the Arts. In our Strutt Library, bequeathed by Frederick Strutt (1843-1909), you’ll find a cornucopia of literary, artistic, and scientific works, including musical compositions by Frances Crawford Kemble (1787-1849) a.k.a. Mrs Robert Arkwright …

February’s Social Media Digest

Welcome back for another look at our social media output; and if you were here for January, you will have seen our tales of snowy weather. Well, a day’s Derbyshire snowfall was all the excuse we needed to think of sledging: 🐧🕸 But, let’s start thinking of warmer climes: Anyone remember the Palm Beach Tourist? …

Kirkstead Board School

For those of you who tune in for our Social Media Digest, you'll be familiar with the hashtag #SearchroomSurprise. Well, our Searchroom Supervisor, Maxine, came across just such a surprise at the end of a busy day recently. A log book for the former Kirkstead Board School (Girls Dept.) in Pinxton gives an insight into …

Social Media Digest for January

Welcome back to our (rather delayed) Social, Media highlights for last month. Our Archive of The Week thread started 2024 with a religious leaning and an undated photo which we had very little information about. But having somewhat accidentally seen a different view of the same event in a booklet in a Diocesan church buildings …

Social Media Digest for December 2023

Happy New Year! We wish you all a happy and prosperous one. Incidentally, are there any suggestions as to what the creature sitting on the leaf in the image above could be? And before we get all 2024, let’s take one last look at our social media output for 2023 … We hope that your …

Social Media Digest for November 2023

Welcome to the most recent review of our Social Media output. But why the change of name you may ask? Well, since we started these digests, we have expanded our online presence. So you will now find these posts not only on the platform formerly know as Twitter, but also on Threads, Instagram and even …

October’s Social Media Digest

And welcome back to the latest instalment of the best of our posts. This month’s Archive of the Week thread began with quite a surprise: we are used to only seeing printed registers for baptisms and burials after 1813 ... ... but here’s the pre-printed registers for Norbury from 1783! There was a bit of …

Bijou snapshots of town development

One of our Archives Assistants, Vicky, has been looking through some under-appreciated resources in our Local Studies collection. I’ll let her take up the story … “During the 20th century, some towns produced their own localised trade directory. These promotional guides / handbooks, which highlighted amenities and businesses, usually included advertisements and street maps, reflecting …

September’s Twitter Digest

And in a change to previous Digests … Welcome to #Map Monday! Here’s a plan of 1791, showing land in Bonsall belonging to the Gell family. Near the bottom of the plan are a river and a forest; on the left-hand side is a small drawing of a castle: Or is it Black Rocks? What …

August’s Twitter Digest

We’ll start this look back at August’s tweets with a rather notable event. Did you know that England football captain, Millie Bright, was born in Chesterfield and went to Killamarsh Junior School and Eckington school? To celebrate the Lionesses’ run in the tournament … ... here's the Bolsover Jam Factory Ladies Football Team, May 1917. …