#ArchiveOfTheWeek
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derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Something a little unusual for our #ArchiveOfTheWeek: a couple of stories written by 8yo Charles Sisum Wright of Eyam Hall in 1903. In this one a mouse luckily escapes from the stomach of a cat when a snake chases the cat and snaps it in two!

#1900s #EYAHandwriting
May 19, 2026 at 10:20 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
To celebrate British Pie Week, our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is this recipe for oyster pie from about 300 years ago! Up to you whether to make it, or just enjoy the vocabulary, such as caudle and verjuice.

#BritishPieWeek #HistoricRecipe
Handwritten recipe with title 'Oystar Pie'. Handwritten recipe for Oystar Pie continued. Typed transcript of the Oystar Pie recipe
March 3, 2026 at 11:05 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is a Granada Television programme created to mark 300 years since the plague struck Eyam.
These clips offer a fascinating glimpse into village life — from atmospheric footage of Eyam itself to pageant rehearsals and interviews with villagers of all ages.
#LocalHistory
February 3, 2026 at 11:41 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is the small archive (just 3 boxes) of the Measham family of Repton which contains nearly 700 years of records, including this commonplace book, with a charming - sorry fowl - illustration in the front 😄

#history
@themerl.bsky.social
Three brown ink drawings of hens pasted onto the inside cover of a small book.
March 25, 2025 at 10:55 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Today is the start of the annual #Archive30 campaign with different themes throughout April. First is #YourArchive, so our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is…all of them! Have a look on our online catalogue to see what we have that interests you: calmview.derbyshire.gov.uk/calmview/

@arascot.bsky.social
A screenshot of the homepage of Derbyshire Record Office's online catalogue.
April 1, 2025 at 10:44 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is by Matthew Gibbons, a Rowsley farmer, who kept his 1761/2 diary in Zeiglographia shorthand. It recounts time spent sowing, harrowing, cutting hedges, digging ditches, unpaid labour on the highways and a moderate amount of drinking to excess.
#EYAHandwriting #18thCentury
Two page spread of a small notebook with Zeiglographia markings divided into sections with horizontal lines. The alphabet has been written out in standard Latin script on the bottom right page.
May 26, 2026 at 9:45 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
The workers in our Derwent Valley Mills had their wages docked when they broke the rules. This 1807 forfeits book for the Strutt mills in Belper, our #ArchiveOfTheWeek, shows the sums docked for wages and why. See the full entry in our catalogue: calmview.derbyshire.gov.uk/calmview/ove...
June 24, 2025 at 10:13 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is this example of gorgeous calligraphy. Benjamin Wilson was only 15 when he made this in 1736 and was largely self-taught. He later moved to London and became a painter, theatre manager and scientist!

#calligraphy #18thCentury
A sheet of paper, beautifully caligraphed, stating 'The Art of Writing in all the hands with variety of ornament… Benjamin Wilson, Leeds July ye 8th day Anno Domini 1736'. Around the text are drawings of animals including a squirrel, monkey, dog, snail, butterfly, birds and a dragon.
October 14, 2025 at 9:40 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
We only hold objects when they've come with a collection like our #ArchiveOfTheWeek: Belper Poor Law Union (ref D19). These poignant items belonged to pauper 'lunatics wandering at large' sent to the County Lunatic Asylum in the early 1900s.

#HealthHistory #20thCentury #History
Two pocket watches and five women's rings made of brass.
July 22, 2025 at 10:30 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek, this fascinating notebook, shows that if you were travelling from Chesterfield to London in 1840 you would have changed coach 17 times and have needed 65 horses in total! The 158 mile journey would have taken 7 hours and 45 minutes.
#EYAConnections
A handwritten page in a notebook. It begins 'Friday May 29th 1840. Journey to London.' It then lists each stop on the journey and how many miles there was in between. A double page from the same notebook continuing the details of the journey. A modern document, showing a table which summarises the journey, giving place names and distances in miles.
February 24, 2026 at 11:05 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
It 's not quite winter yet, but the cold weather is heading our way. Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is a recording of Brian Gill remembering being inspired to travel from Sheffield into the Hope Valley to walk during the famous heavy snow of 1947.

#1940s #weather
November 4, 2025 at 1:47 PM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
There's no apple pie without apples and no apples without planting apple trees! On #NationalApplePieDay our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is this list of the names of apple trees that were planted in the New Orchard at Osmaston Hall in 1730.

#history #18thCentury #botany
A hand written document that says: 'The names of the Apple Trees that are planted in the New Orchard in the year 1730'. It then lists various names of apple varieties, such as 'Golden Pippins' and 'Partridge Apples'.
May 13, 2025 at 12:54 PM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is the Derby Opera Company (ref D7755). The archive includes these lovely cast photographs from the 1920s and 30s, plus this watercolour painting of the 'Geni of the Lamp' in a 1918 performance of Aladdin.

#EYAColourful #1920s #theatrehistory
June 2, 2026 at 9:50 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
If the recent good weather has inspired you to go outside, our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is Ian Davidson remembering the epic hiking and #climbing weekends he and his friends did in the #1960s from Manchester into the Peak District! Recorded as part of the Moor Memories Oral History Project.

#LocalHistory
March 4, 2025 at 2:29 PM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is D6995: Jack Bronson, artist and illustrator, who was born in Loscoe. Here are some of his landscape drawings, but the collection has a varied mix of nature, cartoons and DH Lawrence related images.

#art
Three sketchbooks, open and showing black and white pen and ink landscape drawings of a winter tree in front of a barn, a house seen from across a wall, and a gate into a yard with buildings behind.
January 27, 2026 at 11:35 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is D56: a small account book once belonging to John Blackwall of Kirk Ireton. We're intrigued by some of these purchases in 1802… what is Essence of Pearl? And what were all the 'Things from Derby'?

#ExploreYourArchive
An open handwritten account book listing the date, purchase, and price in pounds, shillings and pence.
January 7, 2025 at 12:36 PM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Amongst the archives of the Diocese of Derby is our #ArchiveOfTheWeek, three volumes of watercolours of the county's parish churches, created about 1823 by Philip Browne. Photographs of some churches were added between 1870 and 1900.

#EYAReligion/Spirituality #art
Selection of watercolours by Philip Browne showing the parish churches of Dore, Blackwell, Tibshelf, Ault Hucknall, Cromford and Hartshorne about 1823, with a photograph of Kirk Langley about 1890s.
November 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
A talented artist, Horace John Rylands served in 16 Machine Gun Co in France during #WWI. His archive of cartoons and drawings from that time is our #ArchiveOfTheWeek. Here's a great example from the collection.

#history #archives
Pen and ink sketch captioned "The Adventures of 'aughty 'horace III. The doubtful joys of visiting gun positions at 5.30am by taking short cuts over the Top, in the moonlight". The sketch shows a British soldier striding over a large hole towards a machine gun placement. Behind him is a ruined farm building and landscape dotted with craters.
November 26, 2024 at 10:11 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Lead has been mined in Derbyshire since the Romans were here. Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek, this diary from John Naylor, provides a surprisingly readable glimpse of the life of an 18th century lead miner near Bakewell.

#LeadMining #18thCentury
Photograph of John Naylor's diary for 19 Apr to 21 May 1790. The 18th century handwriting is quite familiar to the modern eye. Entries include 19 April: Margaret has Been 3 1/2 shifts this week over work; 28 April: walling for Richard Skidmore at Bleakmore at New mine; 30 April Measurd 24 Load 4 dish Eleven Lots 4 Fyths - 1 mear dish; 13 May: Ascension day No mining; 18 May: at mine by ourselves knocking
September 22, 2026 at 10:15 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is a book of genealogy notes of the Gell, Eyre and Darcy families (D3287/4/11), written by Sir William Gell in the late 1700s/early 1800s. If only we all had such a beautifully illustrated family tree!

#history #ExploreYourArchive #LocalHistory
An open page showing closely written text on the left and a pen a detailed pencil drawing of the Gallery at Padley Hall on the right. An open page showing family trees and coats of arms of the Wykersley, Swiyfte and Jessoppe families.
February 25, 2025 at 9:07 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is a surprise find: a while ago, we found a playing card subbing as a bookmark in a 17th century manor court roll https://recordoffice.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/9-of-diamonds-discovered-in-court-book/
Any #cartophilists or #ludologists out there who can shed light on its age?
An old 9 of diamonds playing card, with 4 diamonds running vertically along each edge and one diamond in the middle.
August 18, 2026 at 9:45 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
This week’s #ArchiveOfTheWeek features the records of John Poyser, Regional Manager for JW Walker Organ Builders. During a long career he tuned, built, repaired, maintained and relocated hundreds of church and chapel organs across Derbyshire.
Features a colour photograph of a man sat in a dinner jacket and a woman in a dress sat at a table and pages of various reports.
September 1, 2026 at 10:15 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is this 1681 letter, in which William Martyn in London complains about a mortifying rumour that had reached his family in Devon, "a mere sham in my Mothers sickness to alienate her affections from me". The rumour? That he was courting the King's mistress, Nell Gwyn 😱
A letter written in black ink on cream paper from William Martyn in London to Thomas Cole in Devon on 13 October 1681.
April 21, 2026 at 11:10 AM
fhsofcheshire.bsky.social
#ArchiveOfTheWeek

One of my favourite resources to start off this new weekly post by @fhsofcheshire.bsky.social

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞
👉https://masonicperiodicals.org/

A wealth of information from the most significant masonic periodicals for the period 1790 to 1900

#FamilyHistory
Image of the front page of two issue of the Masonic Illustrated, one of which shows a man in full masonic dress
November 26, 2024 at 9:17 AM
derbyshiredro.bsky.social
A blast from the tech past... Here we have a 5 1⁄4 inch soft (actually!) floppy disk. It was created by Grindleford Primary children's contributions to the 1985 Domesday Project, a BBC project to mark 900 years since the Domesday Book. Now, how to access it? #archiveoftheweek
Colour photograph of a 5 1⁄4 inch soft floppy disk. On it it is written: Domeday Childrens contributions to the Domeday Project 1985. To be kept as a School Record. PC Parrot Corporation. Single sided, single density, soft sector, 48 T.P.I. unformatted.
June 12, 2025 at 3:03 PM