What records do we have?

We have a vast collection of original documents relating to Derbyshire.

Original documents can now only be ordered in advance, with five working days' notice. If you know the document reference numbers, you can order by phone on 01629 538347 or email record.office@derbyshire.gov.uk If you don't have the references, you can either check the finding aids in the temporary search room and fill in request slips in advance of your visit; or you can contact us to discuss what you would like to see. We can then order on your behalf.

We appreciate this is inconvenient, so we have abolished the former limit of three advance orders per person.

For further details, please see our Record Office relocation page.

Original documents held at Derbyshire Record Office include:

Derbyshire public bodies: 

  • Derbyshire County Council, and our predecessor the County Quarter Sessions, including electoral registers between 1832-1999.

  • Derby Borough Sessions, local councils and their predecessors the Petty Sessions, including cemetery records from 1855 to the present.

  • Hospitals and workhouses; Police and local courts; Schools and FE institutions.

Diocesan and parish records

  • Diocese of Derby official records.

  • Registers and other records for over 400 Anglican parishes, including baptism, marriage and burial registers from the 16th century onwards used by family historians.

Also available are:

  • registers of baptisms, marriages and burials in non-conformist chapels from the 17th century onwards

  • archives from Derbyshire industries, businesses, societies, charities, estates, families and voluntary groups

  • manuscript and printed plans from the 17th century onwards including estate plans, tithe maps, enclosure maps and early ordnance survey maps.

All the records we hold are arranged into collections, for example, by school or business. Within these collections, each item is individually referenced and catalogues are available containing descriptions of each item.

We have a number of guides to find the reference numbers for specific items.

Record Office Guide

The Record Office Guide is a comprehensive guide containing summary information to all the collections we hold. The reference number in brackets can then be used to search for fuller descriptions in the online catalogue. We advise most customers to begin here when conducting research in Derbyshire.

Online catalogue

We are currently working on a project to make all our collection catalogues available online. However, please appreciate that we have thousands of catalogues, and the project will be ongoing for some time. You can search by reference number, collection title or keyword.

Derbyshire wills

We have a searchable database of wills that we hold from between 1858 and 1928. Although the wills themselves cannot be viewed online, copies can be ordered for a small fee.

Prisoner records

This is a searchable database of prisoners in the County Gaol and houses of correction between 1729 and 1875.

Poor Law Removal Orders

Our staff can search a database of removal orders issued by the County Quarter Sessions between 1710 and 1865 on your behalf. Please contact us to arrange a free search

A-Z Guides of holdings

Guides are also available for download on this page containing details of holdings for

  • parish registers

  • non-conformist Registers

  • cemetery records

  • historical maps

Related documents

The following documents are in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download software to view PDF documents for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)

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