Record Office Derbyshire Record Office & Derby Diocesan Record Office Derbyshire Record Office provides the archive service for the County of Derbyshire, City of Derby and Diocese of Derby. It was established in 1962 and moved into purpose-adapted premises in New Street, Matlock, in 1988. It is legally appointed to hold and make available to the public archives of all types - official, ecclesiastical, business, family, society, school, hospital, industrial and so on - of Derbyshire origin from the Middle Ages to the present day. Derbyshire Record Office is appointed by the Lord Chancellor's Department as the place of deposit for public records of Derbyshire origin. It is the only such place of deposit in the city or county. The Record Office is subject to regular review by the Lord Chancellor's Department to ensure standards of service are maintained. The Record Office meets the national Standard for Record Repositories issued by the Historical Manuscripts Commission. Its collection policies and preservation statements are approved by the Commission Derbyshire Record Office is legally appointed by the Diocese of Derby as its diocesan record office. The Record Office acts on behalf of the diocese in implementing requirements of the Parochial Registers and Records Measure. Derbyshire Record Office provides the full range of archive services: public access; survey and fieldwork; acquisition and cataloguing; preservation, conservation and reprographics; outreach and publications Derbyshire Record Office holds about four miles of unique original documents, all created within Derbyshire. These are available for researchers to consult in the Record Office Search Room. Over 10,000 users visit the Search Room each year - the average length of stay is five hours. Service development priorities, drawing on comments from users, include: maintenance of public service and storage facilities to national standards; development of computerised catalogues to facilitate electronic access; expansion of outreach activities and publications to attract new users Derbyshire Record Office is a partner in a number of national, regional and local collaborative projects to facilitate access to archives via the Internet. These include EMMA - East Midlands Manuscripts and Archives - to provide electronic access to high priority archives in six record offices by Summer 2002. Catalogues of official archives of Derbyshire and Derby can be consulted on the national website, www.a2a.pro.gov.uk A video on the work of the Derbyshire Record Office is available for loan and the Office issues a number of leaflets on its services such as: What is a Record Office? for owners and custodians of archives Information for Users for researchers Conservation Supplies List to help preservation of archives within the community Checklists for Records Management for administrators especially for schools and parish councils The Record Office issues a monthly newsletter and publishes low cost Beginner's Guides to Archives, currently 40 titles For researchers unable to visit the Office in person, a fee-paid search service is available Outreach events include one-to-one Family History Surgeries, archive skills development workshops, and advice sessions on topics such as How to Look after your Records Archives in the Record Office Official records of Derbyshire County Council and its predecessors, Derby and Derbyshire Quarter Sessions, from the 16th century Archives of many other Derbyshire public bodies including hospitals, courts, local councils and the Derby probate registry Archives of the Diocese of Derby and of over 400 Anglican parishes in the county from the late Middle Ages to the present day Archives from Derbyshire schools, industries, businesses, societies, charities, estates, families and voluntary groups. These include Parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials from the 16th century onwards Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials in Methodist, Congregational, Baptist and other nonconformist chapels from the 17th century onwards Wills and probate records of Derbyshire people from 1858 to 1961 Cemetery records for most of Derbyshire from the 19th century Electoral registers from 1832 Manuscript and printed plans from the 17th century onwards including estate plans, Tithe Maps, Enclosure Maps and early Ordnance Survey maps Contact Details: Location: New Street, Matlock, Derbyshire Address for correspondence: County Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3AG Telephone numbers: 01629 585347 (Record Office Search Room) 01629 580000 ext. 35202 (General Office) 01629 580000 ext 35207 (Duty Archivist) Email: record.office@derbyshire.gov.uk Search Room opening hours: Monday-Friday 9.30am-4.45pm. A restricted service is available from 12.30 –2pm. Enquiries: We will answer free of charge enquiries about our archive collections. Searches for information from archives in the Record Office are undertaken for a fee, payable in advance. Please ask for details. If you have information about archives in which the Record Office may be interested, please contact the Duty Archivist on 01629 580000 ext. 35207. More Pictures Cromford and High Peak Railway Derbyshire Record Office Images