Archives

The archives include:

Business records
Amongst the business records in the Archives Collection are four wage books of Richard Arkwright's cotton mill at Bakewell covering the period 1706 to 1811. A microfilm copy of the books is also available. 

Theatre 
A small theatrical collection includes records of the former Chesterfield Civic Theatre. It includes a comprehensive collection of press cuttings, programmes and photographs dating from its opening in 1949. There is also a small collection of items relating to the Chesterfield Corporation Theatre. There are examples of theatrical printing work by George Allen of Brimington including posters of the 1930s and 1940s era, and programmes of the HippodromeTheatre.

Education 
Log books of some former Chesterfield Schools and other records of the Chesterfield education system are held. There is also a collection of over 1,200 items relating to the Chesterfield Settlement, a recreational and adult education centre. The centre was started in 1902 by Violet Markham and closed in 1957. Most of the material dates from 1940 and includes annual reports, 1904 to 1956, accounts and correspondence files. 

Family and estate papers
The Twigg collection comprises approximately 500 items, including registers, receipts, deeds, farm accounts etc. relating to Ashover and North Derbyshire. They date mainly between 1750 and 1880. 

The Devonshire collection comprises over 800 letters, bills, receipts, and assessments, dated mainly in the 18th century. They relate to the Duke of Devonshire's estates in North Derbyshire. 

The Barnes collection contains over 1,300 documents for the period 1620 to 1929. They concern the estates of the Barnes family of Ashgate, near Chesterfield, and the Brocksopps of Grasshill. Various family papers and business records are included especially relating to the coal and iron industries. 

A few of the estate records of the Hunloke family of Wingerworth have survived, comprising nine survey books from 1779 to 1945 showing properties and tenants.

Private collections 
The collections of two former local historians are worthy of mention. 
The Handford collection comprises books, photographs and ephemera on Derbyshire. They were collected by the late C.C. Handford of Whittington and include his writings on Chesterfield and Whittington. 

The Oakley collection consists of about 270 miscellaneous manuscripts collected by the late R.H. Oakley of Holymoorside. It relates to various North Derbyshire places especially in the Eckington area.