Museums, archives and heritage in Derbyshire

Derbyshire, midland county of England, having Yorkshire on the N., Notts on the E., Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and Staffordshire on the S., and Staffordshire and Cheshire on the W.; length, N. and S., 52 miles; greatest breadth, 35 miles; average breadth, 20 miles; area, 658,624 acres; population 461,914. The surface in the S. is either flat or undulating, irregular in the middle and NE., and picturesquely mountainous in the NW. or Peak district. The principal rivers are the Trent, Derwent, Dove, and Wye; river communication is supplemented by the Erewash and Grand Trunk Canals. The road and railway systems are highly developed. The soil in the Vale of the Trent is alluvial and very productive. In the hilly districts the land is mostly in pasture; much of it is rocky and unproductive. Oats, barley, potatoes, and wheat are cultivated; and there are many excellent dairy-farms. Warm mineral springs are numerous, the most popular being those at Buxton, Matlock, and Bakewell. Coal is abundant; iron ore and lead are worked; among the other mineral products are zinc, manganese, and barytes. There are numerous and extensive quarries of limestone and marble; fluor-spar is found in the caverns, and is manufactured into a great variety of ornamental articles. Silk, cotton, and lace are the chief manufactures, but malting and brewing are also carried on, and there are some extensive iron foundries. The county comprises 6 hundreds, 314 parishes, with parts of 8 others, the parliamentary and municipal borough of Derby (2 members), and the municipal boroughs of Chesterfield and Glossop. It is mostly in the diocese of Southwell.

– John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887)

Bakewell Old House Museum

Cunningham Place, Off North Church Street

Bakewell DE45 1DD

01629 813 642

www.oldhousemuseum.org.uk

This enchanting museum houses 10 beamed rooms with massive Tudor fireplaces. The building incorporates a Victorian kitchen, Tudor Parlour and Houseplace.

Barlborough Heritage & Resource Centre

1 Ward Lane, Barlborough

Chesterfield S43 4JD

01246 810100

www.barlboroughrc.btck.co.uk

A Village Heritage Centre. Exhibitions and displays of the local history and heritage of this agricultural and mining area.

Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre

Campbell Drive, Barrow Hill

Chesterfield S43 2PR

01246 472450

www.barrowhill.org.uk

We have over 60 diesel, steam and electric locomotives on the site, and more are brought in for the Steam and Diesel galas. Our archive room is full of books, videos, magazines, photographs and much more, which have all been kindly donated to the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society.

Bolsover Castle – English Heritage

Castle Street, Bolsover

Chesterfield S44 6PR

01246 822844

goo.gl/hSRBeQ

Bolsover is a 17th century house built on the site of a Norman fortress and is a wonderful place to meander and muse. See the fairytale house, designed as a fantasy house for entertaining, of rooms stacked on top of one another to create the ‘Little Castle’ with its range of charming and spectacular interiors.

Bolsover Cundy House

Bolsover S44 6BQ

01246 822844

goo.gl/i1YdiC

This 17th-century conduit house used to supply water to Bolsover Castle. It has recently been restored, with a solid stone-vaulted roof.

Buxton Museum & Art Gallery

Terrace Road

Buxton SK17 6DA

01629 533540

www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/buxton_museum

Founded in 1893, the museum houses geology and archaeology of the Peak District, including the archives and collections of Sir William Boyd Dawkins and Dr JW Jackson. A busy programme of temporary exhibitions provides opportunities for contemporary artists and access to the museum’s own fine art and photographic collections.

Calke Abbey – National Trust

Calke

Ticknall DE73 1LE

01332 863 822

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/calke-abbey

Vivid example of a great country house in decline, with extraordinary contents, historic park and restored garden. * Baroque mansion with unique collections of curiosities * Invisible corridors, underground tunnels and a secret garden.

Caudwell’s Mill & Craft Centre

Bakewell Road, Rowsley

Matlock DE4 2EB

01629 733185

www.caudwellscrafts.co.uk

Caudwell’s Mill Craft Centre is set in the most beautiful surroundings and the relaxing and informal atmosphere make it a unique place for an interesting day out. Whether you are just stopping to shop and have a coffee with friends or planning a family day trip, taking in the Mill and workshops, you will enjoy a friendly welcome and marvel at the stunning Derbyshire countryside.

Chatsworth

Bakewell DE45 1PP

01246 565300

www.chatsworth.org

The ‘Palace of the Peak’ contains one of Europe’s finest private collections of treasures, displayed in more than 30 rooms, from the grandeur of the 1st Duke’s painted hall and state apartments with their rich decoration and painted ceilings, to the 19th century library, great dining room and sculpture gallery. Throughout the house, there are magnificent displays of paintings, including work by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough and Freud, furniture, silver, tapestries and porcelain and a gallery of neo-classical sculptures.

Chesterfield & District Family History Society

2 Highlow Close, Loundsley Green

Chesterfield S40 4PG

01246 231900

www.cadfhs.org.uk

CADFHS was founded in 1989 and is based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. The society covers the area of North East Derbyshire previously known as the Scarsdale Hundred.

Chesterfield Museum & Art Gallery

St Mary’s Gate

Chesterfield S41 7TD

01246 345727

www.chesterfieldmuseum.co.uk

The museum tells the story of Chesterfield from its origin as a Roman fort to the present day. It is located in the Stephenson Memorial Hall, built in 1879 as a mechanics institute, and named in honour of the town’s most famous Victorian resident, railway pioneer George Stephenson.

Crich Tramway Village/National Tramway Museum

Crich Tramway Village, Crich

Matlock DE4 5DP

01773 854321

www.tramway.co.uk

Take a tram ride through time. Step aboard a vintage tram and travel back in time along a recreated village street complete with working pub.

Collections: Home to over 70 trams and a host of associated equipment, the museum has sought to acquire an example of each important stage in the evolution of the British tramcar, a vehicle that dramatically influenced the growth of towns and cities. Significant foreign tramcars are also included.

Derby Cathedral

Iron Gate

Derby DE1 3GP

01332 341201

www.derbycathedral.org

Like all other Cathedrals, Derby is much more than a beautiful building. It is, as its constitution states, ‘the seat of the Bishop and a centre of worship and mission’.

Derby Museum & Art Gallery

The Strand

Derby DE1 1BS

01332 641901

www.derbymuseums.org

A museum featuring collections relating to the history, culture and natural environment of Derby and Derbyshire. Visit the museum and Art Gallery to discover the fantastic recently refurbished Joseph Wright Gallery as well as our vibrant contemporary exhibition spaces. Discover Derby’s thriving local history in our Nature and Origins galleries alongside favourite exhibits such as The Mummies, 1001 Objects and The Soldier’s Story.

Derbyshire Ancestral Research Group

86 High Street, Loscoe

Heanor DE75 7LF

01773-604916

darg.gukutils.org.uk

The group comprises enthusiasts mainly in the fields of family history and local history and is involved in recording monumental inscriptions in churches, churchyards and cemeteries throughout Derbyshire, with occasional visits over the county border.

Derbyshire Family History Society

Bridge Chapel House, St Mary�s Bridge, Sowter Road

Derby DE1 3AT

01332 363876

www.dfhs.org.uk

For over 25 years the society has linked together people researching their family history in Derbyshire. During that time we have built up an extensive library and assembled a team of expert volunteers.

Derbyshire Record Office

New Street

Matlock DE4 3AG

01629 580000 Ext 35201

www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/record_office

The Derbyshire Record Office provides the archive service for the county. It is approved by the Lord Chancellor and Master of the Rolls as the recognised record office for Derbyshire holding official public archives which come from the county.

Collections: You can see original archives from the mediaeval period to modern times at the record office. They include records of more than 250 Church of England Parishes, 600 Methodist and other nonconformist chapels, 500 schools, 200 societies and voluntary organisations and 350 businesses.

Diseworth Heritage Trust

Lady Gate

Diseworth DE74 2QF

01332 853647

www.diseworthcentre.org

Heritage Centre, villages archive, museum, training and exhibition centre.

Donington Grand Prix Collection

Donington Park, Castle Donington

Derby DE74 2RP

01332 811027

goo.gl/ZUD4ko

The Donington Grand Prix Exhibition is, quite simply, the largest collection of Grand Prix racing cars in the world. Five halls, with over 130 exhibits, illustrate the history of motor sport from the turn of the 20th century.

Erewash Museum

High Street

Ilkeston DE7 5JA

0115 9071141

www.erewashmuseum.co.uk

Housed in a grade II listed Georgian town house with a Victorian extension. We are a community led museum, focusing on our geographical area, and exhibit for several local societies. We also have a collection of paintings by local artists and pottery from the art potters at West Hallam in the 1920s.

Eyam Hall & Craft Centre – National Trust

Main Street

Eyam S32 5QW

01433 639565

goo.gl/9aBROP

Nearly 350 years ago the community village of Eyam made the ultimate sacrifice to prevent the spread of the deadly plague – their own lives. To help you explore some of these stories we’ve created a number of walks starting from Eyam Hall. The centre, built in the Hall’s former stable yard, offers a vibrant hub from which to explore the wider village of Eyam and its captivating stories.

Eyam Museum

Hawkhill Road, Eyam

Hope Valley S32 5QP

01433 631371

www.cressbrook.co.uk/eyam/museum

When plague struck the village of Eyam in 1665, the villagers made the extraordinary sacrifice of isolating themselves in order to prevent the spread of this terrible disease. The harrowing story is the central theme of Eyam Museum, which also tells the story of the village from prehistory to the present.

Hardwick Hall – National Trust

Doe Lea

Chesterfield S44 5QJ

01246 850430

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardwick

One of the most splendid houses in England. Built by Bess of Hardwick in the 1590s, and unaltered since: yet its huge windows and high ceilings make it feel strikingly modern.

Kedleston Hall – National Trust

Kedleston

Quarndon DE22 5JH

01332 842 191

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kedleston-hall

Neo-classical mansion with Adam interiors, landscape gardens and park Masterpiece of neo-classical architecture, designed by Robert Adam. * Eastern Museum filled with the collections of Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India * Lovely gardens, with celebrated displays of azaleas and rhododendrons (June).

Kegworth Village Association & Museum

52 High Street

Kegworth DE74 2DA

01509 670137

www.kegworthmuseum.org.uk

Kegworth village association and museum forms a centre for researching, recording and preserving Kegworth life, past present and future, as evidenced through artefacts, photographs, records and presonal memories.

Little Chester Heritage Centre

St Paul’s Church, Chester Green, Mansfield Road

Derby DE1 3RA

01332 363354

www.beehive.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/lchc

The centre shows the history of Little Chester (Chester Green) from Roman to recent industrial times by means of artefacts, models and photographs.

Living in the Past Community Archaeology Project

1 West Park Road

Derby DE22 1GG

01332 233961

www.livinginthepast.org.uk

Community project examining domestic life in the Midlands (specifically Derby) during the 19th and early 20th centuries, through archaeology and social history.

Measham Museum

56 High Street, Measham

Swadlincote DE12 7HZ

01530 273956

www.meashammuseum.btck.co.uk/Visitorinformation

Central to the museum is the Dr Hart collection, a treasury of artefacts, pictures, letters and documents recording the history of a Midland village through the eyes of two local doctors – father and son – over nearly a century. Linked to the Hart Collection are items recalling the coal mining, terracotta and pottery traditions of this area, where mining was first recorded in the 13th century.

Midland Railway Centre

Butterley Station

Ripley DE5 3QZ

01773 570 140

www.midlandrailway-butterley.co.uk

Butterley Station is the entrance to the Midland Railway – Butterley and everything that you see has been built since the Midland Railway Trust arrived in 1973. At that time the railway was derelict and all the buildings had been bulldozed.

Moira Furnace Museum & Country Park

Furnace Lane Moira

Swadlincote DE12 6AT

www.moirafurnace.org

Moira Furnace is an early 19th century blast furnace built to manufacture iron. Unfortunately, the furnace was not a great success and by 1811 it had closed down and been converted into housing for miners.

New Mills Heritage & Information Centre

Rock Mill Lane, New Mills

High Peak SK22 3BN

01663 746904

www.newmillstowncouncil.org.uk/heritage.php

The centre is on the track leading down into the ‘Torrs’, a dramatic gorge above which the town perches and which includes mills and the ruined foundations of mills and weirs lying in the bottom of the gorges, attracted to the site at the end of the 18th century by the water power potential.

North East Midland Photographic Record – Picture the Past

c/o Derbyshire County Council, Heanor Library, Ilkeston Road

Heanor DE75 7DX

01773 716967

www.picturethepast.org.uk

The libraries and museums of Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have in their collections, hundreds of thousands of historic photographs, slides, negatives, glass plates, postcards and engravings recalling the history of the local communities over the last hundred years and more. In the past, these treasures were held in filing cabinets and anyone who wanted to see them would have to make a trip to the library or museum – perhaps to several different locations. Now thousands of them are available online.

Peak District Mining Museum

The Pavilion

Matlock Bath DE4 3NR

01629 583834

www.peakmines.co.uk

Visit a museum where you can experience and wonder at the forgotten world of a Derbyshire lead miner. For centuries, men have toiled underground in cramped and hazardous conditions to earn a meagre living by extracting the mineral galena (lead ore). See the tools they used, clothes they wore, the advances in technology and the importance of this metal in our modern day lives. Crawl and climb through a maze of twisted tunnels and shafts to feel for yourself the cramped conditions of a Derbyshire lead miner.

Peveril Castle – English Heritage

Market Place, Castleton

Hope Valley S33 8WQ

01433 620613

goo.gl/a7mlE1

Perched high above the pretty village of Castleton, the castle offers breathtaking views of the Peak District. Founded soon after the Norman Conquest of 1066 by William Peverel, one of King William’s most trusted knights, it played an important role in guarding the Peak Forest area. Following extensive conservation work on the keep, a walk-way erected at first floor level enables visitors to enter two chambers previously inaccessible: a medieval garderobe, and a small room with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside.

Pickford’s House Museum of Georgian Life & Costume

41 Friar Gate

Derby DE1 1DA

01332 715181

www.derby.gov.uk/museums

You can see the ground floor dining room, drawing room and morning room as they might have been in Joseph Pickford’s time. A Georgian bedroom and dressing room have been recreated on the first floor, while on the top floor there is a servant’s bedroom complete with straw mattress.

Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust, The

The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust’s West Shed Museum, Midland Railway – Swanwick Junction site

Ripley DE5 3QZ

01773 743986

www.prclt.co.uk

The West Shed is home to The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust – a voluntary organisation formed in 1993 to look after and promote the historic locomotives in its care. The West Shed houses a collection of historic steam locomotives and railway coaches, whose history is told through display boards, audio commentary domes, animatronic figures and a mini-cinema with short films.

Red House Stables Working Carriage Museum

Old Road, Darley Dale

Matlock DE4 2ER

01629 733583

www.workingcarriages.com

Red House Stables Working Carriage Museum has one of the finest collections of original horse drawn vehicles and equipment in Britain. Established in 1946.

Regimental Museum of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers – Prince of Wales

The Strand

Derby DE1 1BS

01332 716656

www.derbymuseums.org/the-soldiers-story

Dedicated to the history of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers, The Sherwood Foresters and the Derbyshire Yeomanry. In Soldiers Story you will follow the story of Derby’s and Derbyshire’s soldiers from the days of muskets and swords at the Battle of Waterloo to the present day conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Renishaw Hall

Renishaw Park

Renishaw S21 3WB

01246 432310

www.renishaw-hall.co.uk

Renishaw Hall is rightly celebrated for its stunning Italianate gardens, laid out in 1895 by Sir George Sitwell (1860 – 1943), great-grandfather of Alexandra Sitwell, the current owner. The gardens boast several ‘rooms’ each with their own names such as the ball room and secret garden, which house species of hellebores, delphiniums and camellias among many others. The Hall is beautifully decorated by generations of Sitwell’s yet visitors will still find evidence of the Hall as a modern family home.

Revolution House

61 High Street, Old Whittington

Chesterfield S41 9LA

01246 345727

www.chesterfieldmuseum.co.uk

The Revolution House, in the Derbyshire village of Old Whittington, three miles north of Chesterfield, takes its name from the Revolution of 1688. Three hundred years ago, this cottage was an alehouse, the ‘Cock and Pynot’ (‘Pynot’ is a dialect word for magpie), and it was here, as history and tradition relate, that three local noblemen- the Earl of Devonshire (from nearby Chatsworth), the Earl of Danby and Mr John D’Arcy met to begin planning their part in the overthrow of James II.

Royal Crown Derby Museum

194 Osmaston Road

Derby DE23 8JZ

www.royalcrownderby.co.uk/visiting

Royal Crown Derby houses the most comprehensive collection of Derby Porcelain to be seen anywhere in the world. It includes pieces from all three of the factories in our history.

Shardlow Heritage Centre

London Wharf, London Road, Shardlow

Derby DE72 2GA

homepages.which.net/~shardlow.heritage

Visit Shardlow and its Heritage Centre for a fascinating insight into this 18th century canal transhipment port. Follow the village trail, on sale at the Heritage Centre..

Sharpe’s Pottery Museum

West Street

Swadlincote DE11 9DG

01283 222 600

www.sharpespotterymuseum.org.uk

A sensitive conversion of a 19th century pottery. The Visitor Centre is a small registered museum centred around a bottle kiln, with artefacts, models, film clips and imaginative computer interactives where people can explore the rich industrial and cultural heritage of the area.

Silk Mill, The

Silk Mill Lane, Off Full Street

Derby DE1 3AF

01332 255308

www.derby.gov.uk/museums

The Silk Mill, Derby’s Museum of Industry and History, is on the site of the world’s oldest factories, the Silk Mills built by George Sorocold in 1702 and 1717. The foundations and parts of the tower from the 1717 mill are still visible.

Sir John Moore Heritage Centre

Appleby Magna DE12 7AH

01530 273629

www.sirjohnmoore.org.uk

17th century school building, designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Sir William Wilson. Many original architectural features from the seventeeth, 18th and 19th centuries remain.

Sir Richard Arkwright’s Masson Mills

Derby Road

Matlock Bath DE4 3PY

01629 581001

www.massonmills.co.uk

Sir Richard Arkwright’s 1783 showpiece Masson Mills on the River Derwent at Matlock Bath are the finest and best preserved example of an Arkwright cotton mill. The Masson Mill pattern of design was influential in nascent British and American cotton mill construction.

Collections: The collection contains diverse items from the British textile industry from its foundations in the late 18th century and illustrates the Legacy of Sir Richard Arkwright.

Strutt’s North Mill

Derwent Valley Visitor Centre, North Mill, Bridgefoot

Belper DE56 1YD

01773 880474

www.belpernorthmill.org.uk

Jedediah Strutt began building mills in Belper in 1776. The North Mill was rebuilt after a fire in 1803 to a ‘fire-proof’ design by Jedediah’s son William.

Collections: Some original and some replica machines displays the evolution of cotton spinning from cottage industry to factory system, from drop spindle and spinning wheel through to Hargreaves jenny, water-frame and Crompton.

Sudbury Hall & the National Trust Museum of Childhood

Sudbury Hall and The Museum of Childhood

Sudbury DE6 5HT

01283 585305

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sudburyhall

Sudbury Hall is a 17th century house situated in the picturesque village of Sudbury in Derbyshire. It was built by the Vernon family and contains exquisite examples of craftsmanship, including an impressive wood carving by Grinling Gibbons.

Sutton Scarsdale Hall

Sutton cum Duckmanton

Chesterfield S44 5UR

01246 822844

www.english-heritage.org.uk

Work has recently been carried out by English Heritage to make the ruins of this 16th-century house safe. Visitors can now see the fragments of its former rich plaster decoration.

Wirksworth Heritage Centre

Market Place

Wirksworth DE4 4ET

01629 825225

www.storyofwirksworth.co.uk

Wirksworth Heritage Centre tells the ‘story of Wirksworth’ a unique town set in the heart of Derbyshire. From a prehistoric woolly rhino to the history of lead mining and quarrying, Wirksworth has a fascinating history – words, pictures and memories bring this history to life.