A bit of cheer in the bleak Midwinter. Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is a programme for A Midsummer Night's Dream, performed by Derby School's Dramatic Society in The Big School, 1933. For those who know the play, guess who FW Longbottom was playing? That's right - Philostrate. Bottom was played by T Lee.

This cartoon from May 1916 shows men turning up for early morning military training. It was drawn by Horace J. Rylands during his #FirstWorldWar service. Horace was born in Torquay, but spent most of his life in Sheffield as an engineer with the Tramway Department, before moving to Bakewell.

St. Peter's Church Bell Ringers, Belper, Derbyshire c. 1955, ringing in the New Year! Ringing Bells at midnight on New Year's Eve was said to drive off evil spirits & bring good luck for the coming year.

For our #PhotoFriday on #WorldIntrovertDay we give you an introvert’s nightmare. This is the reception line at Chatsworth, for Lord Hartington becoming 10th Duke of Devonshire in 1939. How many people to meet and greet? His poor hand must have ached after all that hand shaking. #1930s

‘The Master of these Marvels’ is a new biography of George Stephenson, which presents a year by year account of the railway pioneer’s activities. It also shows how he garnered a circle of influential people to help progress mechanical engineering. Now in our #LocalStudies library.

🎉 Happy New Year from all of us at Derbyshire Record Office! 🎉 We hope this calendar from 1903 will still give you luck and joy in 2026... #HappyNewYear

Our latest #NewAccession is thanks to Bakewell Town Council: we now have a complete set of minutes for Bakewell Urban District Council 1863-1974, as well as town council minutes 1974-2018. A full list of deposits from BTC can be found on our online catalogue.

As the temperature drops this #NewYearsEve who wishes they'd been gifted a nice new pair of gloves the Christmas? This advertisement for Ladies and Gentlemen's gloves is from the Long Eaton Advertiser December 1923 - we like the sound of lined wool with a fur wrist! #archives

The poems of Thomas Crofts of Belper (1815-1904) are our #ArchiveOfTheWeek. Included are poems for Christmas and the New Year, beautifully printed on card, some in gold lettering. We like to think he gave them to friends and family with good wishes for the year ahead.

When documents play hide and seek 😄 We thought this was quite sweet when we were looking for something else in the same box. #SearchroomSurprise

How many of you include going to a pantomime as one of your Christmas traditions? If you fancy some festive #EYASparkle see what’s being performed locally, like this production of Aladdin at The Playhouse Theatre, Pavilion Gardens, Buxton in 1968. #PhotoFriday #1960s

To finish our #Railway200 extravaganza: a Midland Railway Company ticket issue book from 1870–1871, straight out of Dronfield Station. Imagine the journeys recorded in these pages—Victorian passengers, steam locomotives, and the golden age of rail…

Did you know the “Christmas Pudding King”, Matthew Walker, came from Derbyshire? The business he started in 1899 in Heanor is reputedly the oldest Christmas pudding maker in the world. Find a copy of Derbyshire Life from December 2018 in our #LocalStudies library to find out more.

To everyone who has visited, contacted us, followed, liked, and commented on our posts this year — Derbyshire Record Office wishes you a #MerryChristmas and a Happy New Year! #ArchiveAdventCalendar

Our #NewAccession is a diary of William Green, servant to Hugh Seymour Blane of The Pastures, Mickleover, Derby. This entry is from 24th Dec 1868 when Sir Seymour and Lady Blane saw the Christmas decorations at the County Asylum. The housekeeper's gift was sherry, the servants had rum. #Victorian

Watch out! #Santa's on his way, cycling through the snow on his penny-farthing. Luckily Rudolph and the other reindeer are behind him to make sure he gets round the world on time… #ArchiveAdventCalendar

Who is dreaming of a White Christmas? This serene scene captured by a Peak Park photographer of snow-laden pines in Cressbrook certainly evokes a #WinterWonderland. You can almost hear the sleigh bells ringing! #ArchiveAdventCalendar #snow

Someone who could be a little bit naughty, but was certainly nice and funny, was the comedian Victoria Wood. Here is a note she sent Buxton Fringe Festival to mark the 21st Fringe Festival, remembering a little mishap in a changing room! #NaughtyOrNice #ArchiveAdventCalendar

Deposited Plans are a great source of information. With the numbers on the plan, search the book of reference, which will state who owners, lessees, occupiers were and describe property and land. This is for New Mills 1829. #Railway200

Sound asleep and dreaming of Christmas magic… Judging by the size of that stocking, someone had a very long wish list! 🎄 #FestiveTraditions #ArchiveAdventCalendar

Well doesn’t this look cosy? This is the students' common room at the Teacher Training College, Rockside, Matlock in the #1950s. Best put that fire out before Father Christmas visits though. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #WarmFire

Are you going to a #ChristmasParty this festive season? This is the Devonshire Arms Fishing Club in South Normanton in 1949. He’s hard to spot but Father Christmas is lurking in the middle of the group. We’re sure he was jollier than he looks. #PhotoFriday #ArchiveAdventCalendar

This advert for a Locked Coil Rope featured in the March 1951 edition of Mine & Quarry Engineering. It also includes a fascinating insight into the draining levels of Wirksworth lead mines, in ‘The Soughs of Dove Gang’ by Nellie Kirkham. Find a copy in our #LocalStudies library.

Ever wondered how goods were tracked in the 19th century? Here’s a glimpse: an 1871 Midland Railway Company incoming goods invoice record book from Dronfield Station. #Railway200

Send help! Our archive shelves have been invaded by #ArchiveElves! Are they using our boxes for presents, or writing wish lists on catalogue cards? Either way, we might need to start issuing reader tickets to the North Pole...🎄✨ #archiveadventcalendar

A lovely hand drawn poster full of #ChristmasColours by Loscoe-born artist and illustrator Jack Bronson (d. 2006) for a Christmas Social of a Fellowship Group, possibly at Newthorpe, 1958. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #1950s

Our latest #NewAccession is an addition to the papers of the Swanwick family of Whittington near Chesterfield. Eric Drayton Swanwick was an officer in the Sherwood Foresters (Nottingham & Derbyshire Regiment) during the #FirstWorldWar. He was also active in the Scouting movement.

Born 250 years ago today in 1775, #JaneAusten's words have inspired readers for over two centuries — including Derbyshire’s own L. du Garde Peach. Here’s a glimpse of Peach’s typed play script "Jane Austen", part of his “Famous Men and Women” series, broadcast on radio around 1938. #JaneAusten250

Ringing in Christmas. This beautiful Victorian Christmas card was one of many collected by Frances Crewe of Calke Abbey around the 1890s. She would collect Christmas and New Years cards and paste them into scrap books. A lovely glimpse into a Victorian pastime. #Bells #ArchiveAdventCalendar

Derbyshire Militia 2nd Battalion orderly books for 1798-1805 are our #ArchiveOfTheWeek. The battalion was commanded by the Mundys of Shipley Hall and the books record daily orders, comings and goings. Here the soldiers have complained about the quality of the beer!

Have you heard of the Popish Plot? For mysterious archival reasons, we hold the original evidence used to convict some so-called plotters. Find out more in our latest blog: https://recordoffice.wordpress.com/2025/12/12/the-horrid-popish-plott-letters/ #archives #17thCentury

We may be biased, but we do think marbled paper makes the most beautiful #WrappingPaper there is 😍 #ArchiveAdventCalendar

Trains were originally developed for industrial uses rather than passenger use, and are of course still used for this purpose today. Here are waggons being loaded at Peak Dale Quarry in 1977. #Railway200

These delicate paper #decorations were sent to Philip Gell at Hopton Hall in 1812, carefully wrapped in a paper envelope. There's no explanation with them - at least not anymore - but he clearly treasured them. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #1800s

Christmas #shopping usually involves a lot of food. That was certainly the case in 1920 for the Fitzherberts at Tissington Hall. This list shows Lady Fitzherberts' account for a month with Skidmore's Shop in Bakewell. The family certainly liked their fish! #ArchiveAdventCalendar

Yes, your eyes are correct. This is Jennifer Parkin of Ripley in the 1970s and those are her feet around her head! We don’t know much about Jennifer except she performed as a dancer and contortionist, but it must have been quite the show! #PhotoFriday #EYASparkle

These young ladies are dressed in their finery for a Christmas full of fun! This lovely #Victorian Christmas card from the 1890s was special enough to be kept and pasted into a scrap book. #FestiveClothes #ArchiveAdventCalendar

With the #DarkNights upon us, here is a scene of the Cornmarket in Derby, in the early 1900s. Shop windows lit up will be familiar today, but the traffic has not only changed appearance, it’s actually disappeared as today’s Cornmarket is fully pedestrianised. #ArchiveAdventCalendar

A proposed railway route through Newbold and Whittington in Chesterfield, dating back to 1863 — part of the #Victorian era’s ambitious expansion of Britain’s rail network. #Railway200

Behind today’s #ArchiveAdventCalendar door… a festive selection of #ChristmasCards from our collections!

Here's a scene from around 1960 that will be repeated in primary schools all over the country in the next couple of weeks: the children of Brookfield School in Shirebrook performing the #Nativity. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #1960s

Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is the Radio Scheme accounts of Derbyshire Association For the Blind, founded 1914, still going strong as Sight Support Derbyshire#ArchiveOfTheWeek The idea in 1927 was making the new world of wireless broadcasting accessible to people with visual impairments by providing radio sets.

A few more gift suggestions from our #LocalStudies bookshop. Who wouldn't love to find one of these under the tree on Christmas Day!

Gingerbread is definitely a #FestiveFood favourite. It was in years gone by too, as this recipe for gingerbread can be found in a family recipe book of the Burrows family from Mapperley from the mid-twentieth century. Do let us know if you make some! #ArchiveAdventCalendar

A fascinating piece of railway history: A Midland Railway Company ticket book from 1878 for excess luggage and even dogs, issued at Dronfield Station. #Railway200

Was there a bigger #Star in the 1960s than Elvis Presley? Here he is in 1962, meeting Heanor's own Albert Hand, the then President of the Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #Elvis #1960s

Who knew curling used to be big in Buxton? This photo from 1906 shows the specially built rink in the Pavilion Gardens, complete with lighting so it could be used after dark. In the same year Buxton Curling Club had 75 members. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #WinterSports #curling #1900s

#OnThisDay in Derby in 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie abandoned his march to London to restore the Stuart monarchy in England, Scotland and Wales. The Jacobite rebels were ultimately defeated at the Battle of Culloden in Scotland on 16 April 1746. #EYAAnniversaries #18thCentury

This is a photograph of John Williamson in around 1930, standing outside Greaves' shop. We think the image was taken in Dronfield. John lost both his legs when he fell under a train. #DisabilityHistoryMonth #1930s

This fabulous Victorian Christmas card shows a sumptuously decorated Christmas tree. How will you be decorating yours this year? #ArchiveAdventCalendar #Tree #EYASparkle #Victorian