Find out about the publications we have produced that are in print, out of print, are planning to publish or those available on-line on this page.
To view draft text for potential future Derbyshire VCH volumes click on the link, however we are currently concentrating on our VCH spin-off series – detailed below.
What’s next in our publication’s schedule?
After many years of our volunteer group’s and county editor’s research, we are now actively publishing a VCH ‘spin-off’ series of books on the Chesterfield area. These use research carried out for planned ‘big red books’ (see below). They are an attempt to publish interim accounts of parishes and townships, making this information publicly available, in hard copy, for the first time.
We are currently actively working on the following parishes and townships with a view to publication over the next few years – Calow and Temple Normanton; Old and New Whittington (though this is subject to change).
Work is also in progress on many other parishes surrounding Chesterfield including Newbold, Brampton, Brimington and Tapton and Staveley. If you fancy playing an active role in this research please visit our page here.
Books in-print
To purchase any of our in-print publications on-line please use this link to open our order form: VCH publications order form.
A History of Wingerworth
Published 1 March 2024. £20, illustrated, some in colour, A4 hardback format, fully referenced and indexed.
Our most recent publication is a history of Wingerworth, near Chesterfield. This book is in series with the VCH ‘spin-off’ volume on Hasland.
Until modern changes Wingerworth was a township and chapelry forming the southernmost part of the ancient parish of Chesterfield, extending from the River Rother in the east to the edge of East Moors at Stone Edge in the west, and from Birdholme Brook in the north to Tricket Brook in the south. It was a thinly populated area, in which most of the land belonged to either the Hunloke family of Wingerworth Hall or the succession of families which owned Stubbing Court in the west of the township. Although mainly a farming community, Wingerworth also has a long history of small-scale ironsmelting, coalmining and stone quarrying. In 1920 the Hunloke estate was broken up by sale. The Hall (pictured on the cover) was demolished a few years later and some new housing was built.
After the Second World War Wingerworth saw very extensive residential development, which transformed both the landscape and the community. In addition, in the 1950s one of Europe’s largest coke-making plants was built alongside the railway at the eastern edge of the parish, which closed at the turn of the century and the site cleared and remediated.
This book, the third produced by the Derbyshire Victoria County History Trust in a series of interim studies of Chesterfield and its adjoining communities, is by far the most detailed account of Wingerworth yet published. The author has been a resident of the parish since the 1960s and has long taken a keen scholarly interest in its history. The book should appeal to both local residents and anyone with a serious interest in Derbyshire history.
Find out more about this book, its launch and view some sample pages in our post here.
Derbyshire VCH volume III
Published in 2013 of some 200 pages, A4 size hardback. Fully referenced and indexed, with black and white photographs and maps.
This ‘big red book’ volume was edited by Philip Riden with the assistance of Dudley Fowkes. It is now regarded as the standard reference work in the history of Bolsover and its adjacent parishes.
It includes accounts on the parishes of:
- Barlborough
- Bolsover
- Clowne
- Elmton (and Creswell)
- Whitwell
Derbyshire VCH Handbook
Paperback A5 publication, of 124 pages. Second edition published in 2012.
The handbook is used by our team of VCH researchers, but will be of great assistance to anyone researching the history of their own parish. The text provides straightforward, step-by-step advice on how to write the history of a Derbyshire parish, including sources and tips on note-taking. Published in 2012, this is a heavily revised version of our first hand-book.
This volume was published by the Derbyshire Record Society as their Occasional Paper No. 9, 2012, but is available from the Trust.
Books out-of-print
Out-of-print and sold-out books are not available from the Trust, but may be available second hand from book dealers or via internet dealer sites.
A History of Hasland – sold out
This book, a ‘VCH spin-off’ uses research carried out for a planned ‘big red book’ volume. It was published in June 2022 and is the first authoritative account of this large parish.
Until 19th-century boundary changes, the township (later civil parish) of Hasland (near Chesterfield) included not just what people think of as Hasland today but also Corbriggs and Winsick, Grassmoor, Birdholme and the St Augustine’s end of Boythorpe. It formerly included much industry on Derby Road.
Read more about why Hasland has been chosen for our first township based VCH spin-off book in our blog.
Priced at £20, when first published, the book is of some 200 pages, A4, hardback with maps and colour plates.
This book is sold-out.
Chesterfield Streets and Houses – sold out
By Philip Riden, Chris Leteve and Richard Sheppard
Published in 2019, using research undertaken for our planned VCH ‘big red books’ on Chesterfield, this spin-off study looks at how the individual layout of the town centre has developed and at the history of individual houses. This A4 size, 204 page, hard-backed book is illustrated with colour plates and has new maps by Richard Shepphard. Priced at £20.
Priced at £20, when first published, the book is of some 200 pages, A4, hardback with maps and colour plates.
This book is sold-out.
Hardwick: a great house and its estate – sold out
By Philip Riden and Dudley Fowkes
The second of two books published as part of the England’s Past for Everyone project, this is an illustrated paperback of 198 pages.
This book looks not only at the history of the Old and New Hardwick Halls but also the wider estate and the changing fortunes of the Cavendish family. The growth and eventual decline of the coal mining industry on the area are also covered.
This book was published in 2009 by Phillimore & Co Ltd (The History Press).
This book is out-of-print.
Bolsover castle, town and colliery – sold out
By Philip Riden and Dudley Fowkes
Published as part of the England’s Past for Everyone project, this is an illustrated paperback of 198 pages.
The book looked at Bolsover, its castle, settlement and industry. It was published in 2008 by Phillimore & Co Ltd (The History Press).
This book is out-of-print.
Books available on-line
Derbyshire VCH volume I – available on-line
This volume was edited by William Page and was first published in 1905.
It includes the following contents:
- Natural History
- Early Man
- Romano-British Remains
- Anglo-Saxon Remains
- Early Christian Art
- Introduction to the Derbyshire Domesday
- Text of the Derbyshire Domesday
- Ancient Earthworks
- Forestry
- Index to the Derbyshire Domesday
The full text is available via the Internet Archive (Opens in new window)
Derbyshire VCH Volume II – part available on-line
This volume was edited by William Page and was first published in 1907.
The contents include parish histories of:
It includes the following contents:
- Ecclesiastical history
- Religious houses
- Political history
- Social and economic history
- Schools
- Sport ancient and modern
- Agriculture
- Industries (Lead mining, coal mining, iron, hardware, silver and other minerals, hosiery, lace, textiles, pottery)
Part of this volume is available via British History Online (Opens in new window).
Page last updated 11 April 2024.