New events

We are pleased to announce our new Events programme covering May to September. We’ll be holding a selection of free ‘Introductions’ to subjects which can help when researching family and local history. There is one Introduction per month and all will include an introduction to the types of records which can help in your research, …

Discoveries from the police photograph collection

Did you know that in the 1990s there was a police museum at the Derbyshire Constabulary Headquarters at Butterley? It held a mix of records and objects from the history of the Derbyshire Constabulary, and when it closed, the archive came to Derbyshire Record Office and the objects went to Buxton Museum and Art Gallery. …

Help us save this Derby police album!

A criminal portrait album created by the Derby police between 1890 and 1920 has come up for auction and we have only a week to raise the money to buy it! If you're not familiar with criminal portrait albums, they came about after a law was passed in 1871, that required police to take a …

Our Missing Nightwatchmen

A little while ago, we were alerted to the fact that a book of 1830s Belper nightwatchmen’s reports was up for sale. We asked the seller to send it to us so we could see if we wanted to buy the book and the answer was definitely yes! The book details nightly goings-on in Belper …

Records of Crime and Punishment

An introductory guide to historical records of criminals, policing, law and order in Derbyshire. Most records relating to crime and punishment contain personal information - if the records relate to people who were born less than 100 years ago, access restrictions apply.  Please contact us to discuss arrangements for accessing these records. Police Outside of …

PC & the Pedal Crankers ‘flying the flag for Great British Cycling’

Whilst researching for our forthcoming 'Have bike, will travel' exhibition, I came across a reference to an 'audio disc' featuring a song by 'PC & the Pedal Crankers' which turned out to be a 7inch single featuring the songs 'Ride Your Bicycle' and 'The Bike Ride Song.' The only information we have is that it …

Treasure 5: volume of criminal portraits

This treasure is part of the Derbyshire Constabulary collection (the full list for the collection can be downloaded from our catalogue). It shows photographs of people who had been apprehended by the police, taken shortly after their arrest. The photographs alone contain masses of social history. The volume was chosen as a treasure by Elissa, a longstanding …

On This Day: ‘Man Killed In A Lead Mine’; ‘A Candidate For Transportation’

From the Derby Mercury, 16th December 1857: Man Killed In A Lead Mine On Friday last, a poor man named Thos. Thorpe, went from his cottage at Bonsall, to Mr. Greaves', Cliff-house, Matlock, to beg a handful of mint, and not returning on that night or the next, his wife and family became seriously alarmed …

On This Day: ‘A Struggle with a Thief’

From the Derbyshire Times, 30th April 1881: UNSTONE A STRUGGLE WITH A THIEF On Monday noon an impudent till robbery was committed by a tramp, at the shop of Jabez H. Walker, grocer, Unstone.  Whilst Mr Walker was at dinner the tramp entered the shop without ringing the door bell, and took from the till …

On This Day: ‘Spitfire in Court’

From the Alfreton and Belper Journal, 3rd December 1909: SPITFIRE IN COURT A CHESTERFIELD PRISONER'S ECCENTRICITIES An extraordinary statement was made by a prisoner at the Chesterfield Borough Police Court, on Monday, the person in question giving the name of Luke Spitfire, of no fixed address, who was something of a "spitfire" by nature. The …