This fabulous photograph from 1936 shows a group of men re-laying railway track at Barrow Hill. #Railway200 #1930s

Our latest #NewAccession are the regimental badge and dog tag of Charles William Coupe of Higham. Marrying Ann Bunting in June 1915, he enlisted into #WW1 on 8 December 1915. He was killed in action in October 1917. #MilitaryHistory

Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is a plan of an extension to Wirksworth Infant National School. Erected in 1851, fees were £4 pa for the upper room, £2 for the lower. Free places limited to 12, but trustees could admit more giving due regard to the character of the school. #EYAEducation #LocalHistory

One of our cataloguing volunteers recently came across this plan of King Street #Belper, produced during a court case in February 1926 after Elsie May Litchfield was knocked down the previous April by a car swerving to avoid a bus. #LocalHistory #1920s

In our #LocalStudies library is this fascinating book about the Melbourne Military Railway. This was a training centre used between 1939-1945 by the British Army and Allied engineers to prepare them for the invasion of Europe. #Railway200 #trains #LocalHistory

Happy Anniversary to the Stockton and Darlington Railway which opened 200 years ago today 🥳 It was the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives. This photograph shows the Ashover Light Railway opening ceremony nearly a 100 years later. #Railway200

Do you remember acting in a school play? We bet few had such grand costumes and scenery as this by pupils of Derby Grammar School in the #1930s. Can we even see real chainmail? #PhotoFriday #EYAEducation

Now in our #LocalStudies library, ‘Animal Life at No 37 Corve Way’ by Susan María Rodriguez is a collection of illustrated short stories inspired by the wildlife that visited her twin sister’s garden in Chesterfield in the summer of 2023. #LocalHistory

On #WorldDreamDay, here are pupils from the Bakewell Highfield Girls Secondary School, together with boys from the local Boy's School, performing A Midsommer Night's Dream in the 1950s. We wonder what part the dog played… #EYAEducation #1950s #theatre

Our #Railway200 post for today is this plan of the area around Derby Station in 1873, as part of the Litchurch Waggon Branch.

The Heanorian started out as a school magazine for Heanor Grammar pupils—then became a way for alumni to reconnect, reminisce & share life updates💬✨ We’ve just added editions up to the final one in 2014 as our latest #NewAccession. #EYAEducation

Railway lines used to produce helpful guides to places that could be visited by train to encourage people to use the train. Who wouldn't want to visit 'The Switzerland of England' or 'The Most Perfect Specimen of a Medieval Castle'! #Railway200 #LocalHistory

The records of Netherthorpe School is our #ArchiveOfTheWeek. Founded in 1572 it's still in operation today. Its 350th anniversary in 1922 was a grand celebration with a fete, concert, Punch and Judy shows, fireworks and even an aerial display! #EYAEducation

Quarter Session deposited railway plans can be an excellent source for local history. Here's a short #Railway200 video guide, which explains what they are and how to use them

Can you spot the pirate on #TalkLikeAPirateDay? He’s amongst these other children in fancy dress in Matlock Bath in the 1950s. Sensibly he seems to have chosen a soft drink instead of a bottle of grog. #PhotoFriday #1950s

We hope your school was a happy school. The Prince Henry First School in Mayfield was so happy they even produced a book to celebrate. Full of drawings and writing from pupils it’s a delight. Find it in our #LocalStudies collection. #EYAEducation #LocalHistory

For #Railway200, here is a photograph of the Midland Railway Station at Chesterfield in about 1910. Looks like even ghosts wanted to travel by train! #history #trains #ghost #1910s #photograph

Grants are now available to celebrate Derbyshire's making heritage! You can apply for grants of £300-£2000 with no match funding required. Find out more on our latest blog post: recordoffice.wordpress.com/2025/09/17/n...

As a result of an enquiry this week, we came across two fabulous photographs of a travellers' camp in Derby (now Stores Road area), taken by the council's public health department in May 1901. #history #travellers #1900s

In the Local Transport series of books, Terry Boden’s 1990 'Derbyshire Railways Today' covers the county's main and branch lines and also provides details on railways, quarrying, quarries and coal mining. Find a copy in our #LocalStudies library. #history #trains #LocalHistory

On #InternationalCrochetDay here’s a fine example of a crocheted waistcoat as worn by Mrs Hopkinson of Ashover in the early 1900s. You can easily imagine someone wearing that today. #PhotoFriday #1900s

‘We are all Derbyshire – a collection of portraits celebrating the people of Derbyshire’ by artist Mellisa Speed showcases her portraits of 16 Derbyshire people who are making a difference to their communities. Now in our #LocalStudies library. #LocalHistory

Ragged Schools between the 1840s and 1870s provided an education to the country's poorest children. In this blog post, the Derby Ragged School is explored, including some entries from the school's log in our collection: recordoffice.wordpre... #EYAEducation

Amongst a #NewAccession for George F. Kirk & Sons, builders of #Chesterfield, we found some lovely colour plans of Chesterfield Town Hall which was built in the 1930s. #history

A governess's life could end in poverty but not in the best households! Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is the 1847 will of the Harpur Crewe's governess, Amelia Wheldon. She retired to a comfortable 3 bed cottage on the estate and gave lots of bequests to her friends and relations. #EYAEducation

Today's #Railway200 offering is this plan for the proposed extension of the Leen Valley line from Annesley to Midland Railway at Cuckney via East Kirkby, Sutton in Ashfield, Pleasley and Shirebrook, in 1890. #history #trains

If the weather is kind on #NationalReadABookDay why not do the same as this gentleman in Derby in 1902. There’s nothing like relaxing with a good book in a garden surrounded by flowers on a lovely sunny day. #1900s #history #reading

Think of schools and we tend to remember teachers and pupils. So, here’s a shout out to those other staff busy in the background but equally important. These are the canteen staff of Ripley Council School in 1956. Did you have a favourite dinnerlady? #PhotoFriday #EYAEducation #1950s

'Tales out of School. Consumers’ views of British education' presents a dialogue between young people and educational specialists in 1983, reflecting on their experience of schooling and the preparation it gave them for work. Find a copy in our #LocalStudies library. #EYAEducation

Train services have often been affected by industrial action, as today's #Railway200 post shows: the number of trains between Clay Cross and Ashover run by the Ashover Light Railway were reduced during the coal strike of 1926. #history #trains #1920s

Our latest #NewAccession is a collection of items mainly belonging to an Elliott family from Rowsley. It includes this booklet, 'A Souvenir of South Africa, Everlasting Silver Leaves from Table Mountain'. We don't know who sent it, but it could be a souvenir of the Boer War. #history

On Saturday 20 September there will be a free event at Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre to commemorate the Creswell Colliery mining disaster from 1950. More information can be found here:

Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is D614, an 1806 Parwich sale catalogue. Sale catalogues are full of treats for the historian, with plenty of social, economic and topographical titbits. This one includes a list of freeholders and leaseholders. #history #19thCentury

This photo was taken in Chesterfield after the riot of 19-20th August 1911, following a Railway Strike. The rioters smashed windows and tore up fences. The Riot Act was read to the crowd of c.600. Soldiers were sent from Staveley, who scattered the crowd by charging them with bayonets. #Railway200

This is one of our favourite photos. An off-duty moment in the kitchen at Smedleys Hydro, Matlock c1900. No idea what the joke was but you can just hear the laughter. #EYAHumour #PhotoFriday #history

If you're a researcher who'd like to do something a bit different in terms of public engagement, this funding could be just what you need. And we'd be delighted to work with you - we love trying out new ideas 😀 #history #funding

‘The Park under the Town’ by Martin Doughty explores the development of the Torrs Riverside Park, where a former industrial site was renatured and a special walkway was created over the river Goyt. See it in our #LocalStudies library or buy your own copy in our revamped bookshop.

Today's #Railway200 post is this plan of the passenger station at Ashbourne in about 1910. Carriages alighted next to the horses, while human passengers used the other platforms. #history #trains

This year marks the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. To commemorate this, we would like to share this lovely image of the Rolls-Royce Battle of Britain Window, that was lovingly reproduced in a special booklet for its unveiling in 1949. #history #WWII

Our latest #NewAccession shows that despite being nearly 100 miles away the sea must have called to 16 year old Maurice Sutton of Derby. He signed as an apprentice with shipping company Furness Withy in 1919. The indenture states he met their ‘entire satisfaction’. Life at sea must have suited him!

On #InternationalDogDay we couldn’t resist this fabulous photo from 1909, showing a very cute dog drinking water from the well of St Anne in #Buxton. #dog #history

Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek are these 'Architects Christmas broadsheets', as produced by the staff of Derbyshire County Council's Architect's Department. They contain humorous articles, satire and cartoon illustrations, mainly about colleagues and their work environment. #EYAHumour #history

For those wanting to know more about the Wirksworth Branch railway, why not try Howard Sprenger's book in our #LocalStudies library, one of the excellent Oakwood Library of Railway History series. #Railway200 #LocalHistory #trains

As we approach the August bank holiday let’s hope the weather is kinder than it was in 1922. This is a group of people on Chatsworth Road in Chesterfield with very wet feet, as the River Hipper bursts its banks in heavy rain. #PhotoFriday #1920s #history

A plan of the proposed branch from Cromford and High Peak Railway at Fernilee to Wormhill via Bradshaw and Barmoor Clough, 1829, which would have connected London and Manchester. #Railway200 #19thCentury #trains #history

If you fancy a laugh 1800s style, then enjoy these cartoons of ‘scenes and incidents in Buxton’ by William Giles Baxter from our #LocalStudies collection. #EYAHumour #1800s #cartoon #history

This year marks the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Barry M. Marsden wrote an excellent book about some of the Derbyshire-born pilots who were part of the 'few' that fought, as our Archives Assistant Danielle discovered: recordoffice.wordpre... #history

Inspired by the recent #NewAccession of Blackwell Overseers of Poor records, we have produced a brief guide to show how the surviving types of records created by the Overseers of Poor can be an invaluable source of information when researching your ancestors:

Buxton Museum & Art Gallery are temporarily storing some material with us, including our #ArchiveOfTheWeek, the archive of Sir William Boyd Dawkins (1837-1929), the archaeologist who excavated Creswell Crags and opened the new Buxton Museum in 1928: calmview.derbyshire....#ArchiveOfTheWeek,

This Notice announces the opening of the new passenger railway station at King Street, Belper on the 10th March 1878, which replaced the old station. Horses and carriages had to continue to board trains at the old station though… #Railway200