Every day the search room staff produce a wide range of documents, differing not only in the information they provide, but also the dates they were created, how and why they were created, how and why they will be used. All documents are collected and returned through the issue desk so we can ensure the best protection and security possible during access. As part of this procedure, all our visitors must order the documents required so that we can retrieve the correct item from the stores, sign to say they have received the document, initial to say they have returned it, and a staff member must sign to say they have returned it to the stores.
The gallery below includes many of the documents that were requested and consulted on one particular day last month (Tuesday 13 October). On that day, we had visits from:
- a county council colleague working in the legal services department
- an Australian lady trying to find a photograph (unsuccessfully) and other information (successfully) about a criminal ancestor
- a medieval historian searching for clues about land ownership in Eggington
- a budding local historian interested in that peculiarly Derbyshire tradition of well-dressings
- a second family historian searching for the father’s name of one of her ancestors who was born a bastard in 1818
- a third family historian endeavouring to discover the exact grave location of an ancestor buried at St Oswald’s church in Ashbourne
- a National Trust volunteer from Calke Abbey looking for various bits of information relating to the house and the Harpur Crewe family for a new learning resources being developed there.
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Q-RV-3-1 Certificate stating that the bastard child of Elizabeth Bradley of Ashover by John Armstrong hath not yet been born, 1818
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D7388-1 ‘The Well-Dressing of Derbyshire’ college project by Pat Jones, 1955 – cover
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D5762-3-1 Terrier of lands in Egginton, the estate of Sir John Every, with sketch maps, 1764
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D5720-1-1 Plan of Ashbourne St Oswald graves, 1959, with faculty for removal of tombstones
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D5720-1-1 Faculty (diocesan permission) for removing tombstones from Ashbourne St Oswald churchyard 1961, with plan
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D5194-18-a A description of the custom of well dressing at Tissington, mid 19th century
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D3376-UL-Box 10-2 Extract for James Harrison from Criminal Register 1902-1924
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D3376-UL-Box 10-2 Extract for James Warner from Criminal Register 1902-1924
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D3376-UL-Box 13-1 Extracts for George Martin and John Robinson from Register of Habitual Criminals 1870-1903
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D3376-UL-Box 74-3 Enlargement of Robert Manfleet
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D3376-UL-Box 74-3 Unidentified photographs of Derbyshire criminal suspects, 19th cent
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D3376-UL-Box 10-2 Extract for Elizabeth Mason from Criminal Register 1902-1924
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D3376-UL-Box 10-2 Criminal register 1902-1924 cover
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D2375-M-270-27 Envelope containing five negatives re WW1 trenches, including two photographs of soldiers, 1918
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D2375-M-270-23 Bundle of letters to Mrs G Mosley mostly relating to the engagement of domestic servants, 1928-1939
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D2375-M-99-29 Bundle of Hugo Harpur Crewe’s letters from larger bundle
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D2375-M-76-187 Frances Harpur’s commonplace book, 1784 – cover
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D2375-M-81-1 Scrapbook containing tickets, programmes, invitations, etc. relating to a variety of subjects, politics, public occasions, sports, concerts, etc. 1885-1892 extract a
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D2375-M-81-1 Scrapbook containing tickets, programmes, invitations, etc. relating to a variety of subjects, politics, public occasions, sports, concerts, etc. 1885-1892 extract b
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D2375-M-81-1 Scrapbook containing tickets, programmes, invitations, etc. relating to a variety of subjects, politics, public occasions, sports, concerts, etc. 1885-1892
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D2375-M-99-29 Bundle of Hugo Harpur Crewe’s letters 1874-1904
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D2375-M-76-187 Pages from Frances Harpur’s commonplace book, 1784
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D1035-Zp-1 Photographs of Lawns Clough from album created by FW Walker, 1929-1947
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D1035-Zp-1 Cover of photograph album, images taken by FW Walker, 1929-1947
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D1023-37 Laws and regulations of the Cotmanhay Wesleyan Sunday School Funeral Fund Society, 1849
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D1023-34 Manuscript copy of an article on ‘Well Flowering in Derbyshire’ published in ‘The Mirror of Literature, Amusement and Instruction’, 1837
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D523-CW-1-1 Cover of Shardlow Board of Guardians’ first minute book, 1837
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D523-CW-1-1 Extract from Shardlow Board of Guardians’ first minute book, 1837
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D7388-1 ‘The Well-Dressing of Derbyshire’ college project by Pat Jones, 1955 – extract
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Q-RV-2-28 Order for maintenance by Nathaniel Vickers for Ann Crosley and her child, 1818
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D523-CW-1-1 Title page of Shardlow Board of Guardians’ first minute book, 1837
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D595-LV-21.16 Extract of the Land Values map on the Derbyshire-Staffordshire border, just north of Hollinsclough, co. Staffs
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D662-A-PI-26-8 Plan of Ashbourne St Oswald churchyard and adjoining land, early 20th century
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D504-97-2-6 Extract from deed relating to property and tithes in Aldwark, 1712
Not all our visitors go away satisfied with what they have found out, sometimes because they were expecting to find something else, and sometimes because the records didn’t actually give them an answer at all. However, it is very rare that we have that we have visitors who have not enjoyed the experience of searching through and handling the archives. Often they have to test their skills of reading old handwriting (and the archivist’s skills sometimes too!). Usually they unintentionally discover how different records were created and kept at different times and in different places – for example, it is extremely uncommon to find a record of where in a churchyard a particular grave is located, but there are some churches or vicars that did record this information.
Another day in the life of the issue desk coming next month…
