Hardback Publications
The Building of Hardwick Hall. Part 1: The Old Hall, 1587–91, Vol 4
Hardwick Hall is one of the best known prodigy houses of Elizabethan England. Standing on the ridge of magnesium limestone that overlooks the coal measures of north–east Derbyshire, the New Hall, completed in 1598 and now in the care of the National Trust, adjoins the ruins of the Old Hall, refurbished in the 1580s and now in the guardianship of English Heritage. Out of print.
The Building of Hardwick Hall. Part 2: The New Hall, 1591–98, Vol 9
Hardwick Hall is one of the best known prodigy houses of Elizabethan England. Standing on the ridge of magnesium limestone that overlooks the coal measures of north–east Derbyshire, the New Hall, completed in 1598 and now in the care of the National Trust, adjoins the ruins of the Old Hall, refurbished in the 1580s and now in the guardianship of English Heritage.
The Butterley Company 1790–1830, Vol 16
Founded at Ripley in mid Derbyshire in 1790, the Butterley Company was for many years by far the largest coal and iron concern in the East Midlands. This book is a detailed study of its forty years, up to the date of the retirement of the last of the original partners. Out of print.
A Catalogue of Local Maps of Derbyshire c.1528–1800, Vol 37
It is almost forty years since Harold Nichols compiled a list of Derbyshire maps produced before 1770 as a Leicester University MA dissertation and over thirty since the catalogue was published by the County Library. In this new edition, revised and greatly enlarged by a leading Derbyshire local historian, the scope of the catalogue has been extended to 1800, so that it now contains over 1100 entries. The book also includes eight colour plates reproducing details from some of the most important maps described in the catalogue.
A Catalogue of the Library of Titus Wheatcroft of Ashover, Vol 35
In 1723 Titus Wheatcroft, the schoolmaster and parish clerk of Ashover, in north–east Derbyshire, began to compile a catalogue of his books. His list, and the manuscript volume in which it survives, offer a rare opportunity to investigate the world of a reader of relatively humble social status.
Chesterfield Parish Register 1558–1600, Vol 12
These two volumes together provide a complete transcript of the first volume of the register of baptisms, marriage and burials from the church of St Mary and All Saints, Chesterfield, whose parish included a number of adjoining townships as well as the borough itself.
Chesterfield Parish Register 1601–1635, Vol 15
These two volumes together provide a complete transcript of the first volume of the register of baptisms, marriage and burials from the church of St Mary and All Saints, Chesterfield, whose parish included a number of adjoining townships as well as the borough itself.
Chesterfield Wills and Inventories 1521–1603, Vol 1
These two volumes make available work undertaken by a pioneer adult education research group led by John Bestall, formerly deputy director of the Department of ExtraMural Studies at Sheffield University. The class transcribed or abstracted all the wills and inventories of Chesterfield people among the diocesan records at Lichfield in one of the most successful as well as one of the earliest projects of its kind. The work has been prepared for the press by Dudley Fowkes, formerly county archivist of Staffordshire. Out of print.
Chesterfield Wills and Inventories 1604–1650, Vol 28
These two volumes make available work undertaken by a pioneer adult education research group led by John Bestall, formerly deputy director of the Department of Extra–Mural Studies at Sheffield University. The class transcribed or abstracted all the wills and inventories of Chesterfield people among the diocesan records at Lichfield in one of the most successful as well as one of the earliest projects of its kind. The work has been prepared for the press by Dudley Fowkes, formerly county archivist of Staffordshire. Out of print.
Church Goods in Derbyshire 1552–1553, Vol 48
This book is concerned with the national seizure of church goods in 1553, one of the major expropriations of ecclesiastical assets during the English Reformation. It contains the surviving documents relating to their confiscation in Derbyshire. It includes the inventories of church goods made in 1552 in preparation for their seizure, the indentures made in May 1553 about the retention by parishes of vessels for the administration of Holy Communion and of their bells, and the returns made from Derbyshire and handed over to government officials in Westminster.
The Churchwardens Audit and Vestry Order Book of All Saints, Derby, 1465–1689, Vol 36
The volume edited here is the earliest churchwardens audit record known from the diocese of Derby. It is also the earliest parish record of Derby, a borough whose history, especially in the early modern period, remains obscure. Richard Clark, a graduate of Worcester College, Oxford, has worked for many years on the history of early modern Derbyshire and is a longstanding member of the Record Society committee.
A Derbyshire Armory, Vol 17
This book is the only comprehensive dictionary of Derbyshire coats of arms. It contains some 2,500 entries, arranged alphabetically by surname. A representative sample of eighty coats of arms are illustrated in the text. Out of print.
The Derbyshire Church Notes of Sir Stephen Glynne 1825–1873, Vol 32
Over a period of nearly half a century Sir Stephen Glynne 1807–1874, a North Wales landowner and antiquary, visited churches in almost every county of England, keeping careful notes of what he found. Glynne's notes, preserved at St Deiniol's Library at Hawarden in Flintshire, are thus an invaluable source for the architectural history of the parish churches of Derbyshire.
Derbyshire County Bridges 1530 – 1889, Vol 45
The Bridges Act of 1530 required the court of quarter sessions to repair bridges in its county or borough for which no–one else was responsible. The text includes a brief history and description ofabout 140 county bridges in Derbyshire, ranging in date from the thirteenth century to the early nineteenth. All are located on a series of maps and a representative sample are illustrated. Thegazetteer is prefaced by an introduction outlining the work of quarter sessions under the Bridges Act of 1530 and later legislation, including the careers of the county surveyors.
Derbyshire Directories 1781–1824, Vol 33
This book brings together material relating to Derbyshire from a range of early directories. It greatly facilitates their use for Derbyshire history during a period which saw major changes in the county's economy with the onset of industrialisation.
Derbyshire Feet of Fines 1323–1546, Vol 11
Final concords or fines were drawn up in the Court of Common Pleas at the conclusion of fictitious law suits whose real purpose was usually to effect the conveyance of property. This volume contains full summaries in England of 675 Derbyshire Fines executed between 1323 to the end of the reign of Henry VIII and is fully indexed by person and place.
The Derbyshire Gentry in the Fifteenth Century, Vol 8
Derbyshire in the later Middle Ages was a poor, thinly populated county, whose economic importance lay mainly in the lead industry of the Peak. The gentry of fifteenth–century Derbyshire had made themselves the acknowledged rulers of the county and did not welcome intrusion from outside. Dr Wright's book brings this society to life.
N.B. Book has no dust jacket
Derbyshire Hearth Tax Assessments 1662–1670, Vol 7
This book makes available full transcripts of the best available assessments for every constabulary in the county from the early years of the hearth tax. It was first issued in 1982 and is one of only two Record Society volumes for which sales have warranted a reprint. Out of print.
The Derbyshire Lead Industry in the 16th Century, Vol 14
The mining and smelting of lead is Derbyshire's oldest industry apart from farming, and has long attracted attention from local antiquaries. By contrast, this is a detailed scholarly account of the industry during a period in which it emerged from late medieval decline into years of rapid growth. The main text is supported by detailed appendices which make available new lists of lead smelting sites and other data, and a glossary of technical terms. Out of print.
The Derbyshire Musters of 1638–9 Part 1, Vol 46
Between the early sixteenth century and the mid seventeenth the Privy Council instructed local officials in each county to hold regular musters of able–bodied men who could be called upon to defend the kingdom in time of war. Men from every town and village had to assemble, usually in the early autumn, at a specified meeting place and show that they possessed suitable arms and armour. Gentry families had to provide horsemen. The musters were ordered by the lord lieutenant, summoned by the deputy lieutenants, and organised locally by the high constable of each hundred. Part 1 contains the index and introduction
The Derbyshire Musters of 1638–9 Part 2, Vol 47
In part 2, the text of the 1638 muster book is printed in full, alongside a shorter roll of 1639 and some ancillary documents. Part 1 contains the full index by person and place and prefaced by a detailed introduction. For ease of handling, the introduction and indexes form one volume, part 1 and the texts another, part 2. This new publication will be an in–dispensable source for the study of family history in Derbyshire, as well as the demography of the county, and also sheds new light on local administration in the early seventeenth century.
The Derbyshire Returns to the 1851 Religious Census, Vol 23
In 1851, the Registrar General, through his local officials and the census enumerators, sought to collect details of all the churches, chapels and other places of worship in England and Wales, including the age, size and seating capacity of each building, the denomination to which it belonged, the number of services held there on Census Sunday' and the number of worshippers who attended. This exemplary edition of the original manuscript returns for Derbyshire, joins those published for other parts of the country.
Derbyshire Tithe Files 1836–50, Vol 22
The documents edited here are those prepared by the assistant tithe commissioners as they travelled through Derbyshire preparing agreements and awards under the Tithe Act of 1836. Derbyshire is the only county for which this material has been published.
Derbyshire Turnpike Road and Bridge Trusts 1724–1896, Vol 44
Between the early eighteenth century and the mid nineteenth, some sixty turnpike trusts were established to improve main roads in Derbyshire. These included the principal trunk routes through the county, roads radiating from Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield and smaller towns, and roads used from the east of the county to the Peak District. Three new bridges over the Trent were also built in the same period by trusts established for the purpose. This volume provides for the first time an authoritative guide to Derbyshire turnpike road and bridge trusts, setting out the Acts by which they were created and renewed, details of any surviving archives, and a note of publications relating to particular roads. The route of each road is described in detail and shown on a specially drawn set of maps.
Derbyshire Wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury 1393–1574, Vol 26
These two volumes make available detailed summaries of 397 wills made by Derbyshire men and women which were proved in the central probate court down to the end of the sixteenth century. The texts are complemented by a introduction discussing the scope and value of the material and full indexes of persons, places and subjects.
Derbyshire Wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury 1575–1601, Vol 31
These two volumes make available detailed summaries of 397 wills made by Derbyshire men and women which were proved in the central probate court down to the end of the sixteenth century.
The Diaries of James Clegg of Chapel en le Frith 1708–55 Part 1, Vol 2
James Clegg 1679–1755 was a Dissenting minister whose congregation came from the scattered hamlets and farms around Chapel en le Frith in the Peak District. Clegg's diary begins in 1708 but it was not until 1727 that he made daily entries. From then until his death in 1755 these entries continue without a break. Part 1 Introduction and Diary 1708–36. Out of print.
The Diaries of James Clegg of Chapel en le Frith 1708–55 Part 2, Vol 3
James Clegg 1679–1755 was a Dissenting minister whose congregation came from the scattered hamlets and farms around Chapel en le Frith in the Peak District. Part 2 Diary 1737 –47. Out of print.
The Diaries of James Clegg of Chapel en le Frith 1708–55 Part 3, Vol 5
James Clegg 1679–1755 was a Dissenting minister whose congregation came from the scattered hamlets and farms around Chapel en le Frith in the Peak District. Part 3 Diary 1748–55 and indexes.
An Early Muniment Register from Hardwick Hall, Vol 38
This title makes available, as a calendar in modern English, the earliest register of deeds and other documents kept in the evidence room at Hardwick Hall. The register, which now forms part of the Devonshire Collection at Chatsworth and is published by kind permission of the Duke of Devonshire KCVO, CBE, DL, was begun before Bess of Hardwick died in 1608 and was added to in the 1620s, when the 2nd Earl of Devonshire was head of the family.
Essays in Derbyshire History presented to Gladwyn Turbutt, Vol 30
This is a Festschrift volume, issued to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Record Society's foundation in 1977 and to pay tribute to Gladwyn Turbutt, who has been president of the society throughout its history. The essays range widely over most periods of Derbyshire's and different parts of the county. The authors are all present or past member of the Record Society committee.
Eyam Parish Register 1630–1700, Vol 21
This book makes available a complete record of baptisms, marriages and burials at the parish church of St Lawrence, Eyam, from the start of the earliest surviving register down to the end of the seventeenth century. Out of print.
George Sitwell's Letterbook 1662–66, Vol 10
George Sitwell of Renishaw in north–east Derbyshire, an ancestor of the well known literary family, lived from 1601 to 1667. For most of his adult life he was involved in the iron trade, owning his own blast furnace and leasing other works in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. For the last few years of his life a letterbook survives, containing copies of some 500 items outgoing correspondence.
The Greatest Brewery in the World – A History of Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton, Vol 19
Between the late eighteenth century and the late twentieth Burton–upon–Trent was the major centre of the British brewing industry outside London. For much of that period the largest brewer in the town was Bass and its predecessors. This book traces the history of what was until recently one of the best known names in British industry. Out of print.
The Household Accounts of William Cavendish, Lord Cavendish of Hardwick, 1597–1607 Part 1, Vol 40
The first volume of a three part set. It contains a full introduction to these accounts and a complete index for the three volumes.The accounts were kept by officers of William Cavendish and offer a marvellous insight into a decade of family life at Hardwick Hall.
The Household Accounts of William Cavendish, Lord Cavendish of Hardwick, 1597–1607 Part 2, Vol 41
The second volume of a three part set. These accounts provide a marvellous insight into a decade of family life at Hardwick. They also provide a day–to–day picture of William's public life and his commercial life in London.
The Household Accounts of William Cavendish, Lord cavendish of Hardwick, 1597–1607 Part 3, Vol 42
This is the third volume of the accounts which offer a marvellous insight into a decade of family life at Hardwick as well as a day–to–day picture of William's life in London.
The Leake Cartulary and the Derbyshire Estates of Welbeck Abbey, Vol 43
This cartulary of a major Derbyshire gentry family throws light on their rise in social standing and makes available medieval material for several poorly documented parishes in north–east Derbyshire.
Minutes of the Chesterfield Canal Company 1771–80, Vol 24
This volume contains a complete transcript of the only surviving minute book of the Chesterfield Canal Company, covering the period of the canal's construction in the 1770s. The minute book records meetings of both the committee that managed the project from day to day and also the six–monthly shareholders' general assemblies.
Minutes of the Meetings of the Cromford Canal Company 1789 –1799, Vol 39
This new publication makes available the first three minute books kept by the Cromford Canal Company. It sheds light on the general history of the Derwent and Erewash valleys during the Industrial revolution.
The Records of the Cromford & High Peak Railway Company, Vol 34
The Cromford & High Peak Railway was one of the most ambitious of the schemes projected in the boom in railway promotion of 1824–5. This is a definitive edition of the company's own records, with a detailed commentary on the building and operation of the line, and the traders who used the railway.
The Rolls of the 1281 Derbyshire Eyre, Vol 27
This calendar of the rolls of the Eyre held in Derbyshire by a group of justices on circuit in the northern counties, led by John de Vaux, is the first edition of the records of an Eyre of a major English county from the reign of Edward I.
A Seventeenth–Century Scarsdale Miscellany, Vol 20
This volume brings together three items relating to north–east Derbyshire in the seventeenth century. First, a series of rating assessments of the hundred made in 1652–62 are here printed in full for the first time making available four texts from three different locations. The second part contains a new edition of the autobiography of Leonard Wheatcroft, a man of many parts. Finally, Dr Kiernan has edited, with a substantial introduction, the accounts of a Chesterfield lead merchant.
Sion Chapel, Ashbourne. Letters and Papers 1801–17, Vol 25
Sion was founded in 1801 as a congregation belonging to the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion. It is an unusually well documented chapel, since its day–to–day administration by local members was closely supervised from London. This volume prints all the correspondence which passed between London and Ashbourne during the earliest years of the chapel, together with details of income and expenditure.
Sutton–cum–Duckmanton Parish Register 1662–1837, Vol 18
This volume makes available a complete record of baptisms, marriages and burials at St Mary's, Sutton Scarsdale, from the commencement of the earliest surviving register down to the introduction of civil birth and death registration in 1837.
Visitation Returns from the Archdeaconry of Derby 1718–1824, Vol 29
This volume prints the surviving returns to three visitations of the archdeaconry of Derby conducted by bishops of Coventry and Lichfield during the eighteenth century, together with a fragmentary return from one of 1824.
William Senior's Survey of the Estates of the First and Second Earls of Devonshire c.1600–28, Vol 13
William Senior was a mathematician and surveyor commissioned by the Cavendish family to compile one of the most extensive and detailed surveys to survive for any great estate of this period.
William Woolley's History of Derbyshire, Vol 6
William Woolley was a Derby lead merchant who, after he retired from business, set about compiling a topographical and genealogical account of his native county, modelled on Robert Thoroton's Nottinghamshire 1677 and drawing on collections made by his kinsman Samuel Sanders of Little Ireton. The work was written c.1712 and remained unpublished, latterly in Derby Local Studies Library, until this edition was issued in 1981. Out of print.
