Featured archive

Wilfrid Skinner

The Record Office has recently been given a superb illuminated testimonial volume to Wilfrid Skinner who worked for the County Council for 30 years. For 14 years he was Clerk to the Council (equivalent of Chief Executive today), retiring on 19 January 1944 with the formal wish that that 'the County may long continue to enjoy the benefit of your mature experience and wise counsel'.

The subscribers to the volume include everyone who was anyone in Derbyshire at the time including Sir Osbert Sitwell, Councillor Brigadier-General E C W D Walthall and Councillor Norman Gratton.

The book is a brown leather-bound volume, 9 in x 12 in, with gold tooling on the front cover and the County Council badge and motto also in gold.

Inside there are 16 hand-written pages and a a front page which is in beautifully calligraphy and  decorated with the Council badge and motto plus an inscription to Wilfred Skinner in red, black and purple. The title Clerk of the Peace which Mr Skinner held (together with Clerk to the County Council) is a very old one.

It goes back to the time of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century and the postholder had to be 'an able person, learned in the laws of the realm and resident within the county for which he was apppointed'.

Originally it was an appointment for life as long as he behaved himself properly. In 1607, his job description was 'to read the indictments in County Quarter Sessions Court, to enrol Acts of Parliament, to record the proclamation of rates for servants' wages, to enrol the discharge of apprentices, to keep the counterpart of the indenture of armour, to keep the register book of licences given to badgers and laders of corn, to keep the register of people licensed to shoot with guns, and to certify to the courts transcripts of indictments, outlawries, attainders and convictions by the Justices of the Peace in Derbyshire'.

Hubert Harrison memoirs

Due to a recent request, we are pleased to be able to bring you the Hubert Harrison memoirs as our latest featured archive.

Hubert was a native of Derbyshire who took the time to write his memoirs prior to his death in 1977 at the age of 90. He donated these memoirs to Derbyshire Record Office in 1976 to ensure their long term survival.

The memoirs contain stories and reminiscences from his childhood in the Wirksworth area from the end of the 19th to the start of the 20th century. The memoirs can be downloaded from the more information section on this page and the original manuscript can be consulted at Derbyshire Record Office by quoting reference D1077/1.

You can view and download further information from the more information section.