Historic Maps

A guide to the thousands of maps in our collections, primarily from the late 18th century when mapping became more common - updated May 2021. Maps are an amazing source of information, and in some cases works of art.  They can show how an area has evolved over time, and can help us to understand …

Discovering Ilkeston

Yesterday morning I visited Ilkeston Library to deliver a new workshop  introducing people to the various sources available for researching the history a Derbyshire building. It was a quiet session, with only two in attendance - though one had travelled all the way from Aston on Trent which took me quite by surprise! With the …

Another day in the life of…

I may have been a bit eager to get the next instalment of 'a day in the life of...' written, as back at the beginning of November I did promise that another would follow in December, well we've hit 1 December so here it is. It felt like we probably had an ever so slightly …

Restoration Home – The Elms at North Wingfield

After featuring Derbyshire archives in the first series of Restoration Home last year, the team from Endemol returned to the record office earlier this year to film original records for tonight's episode exploring the history of The Elms in North Wingfield. The show's two historians Kate Williams (pictured) and Kieran Long examined including a tithe map and apportionment for the …