The museum library boasts thousands of books, magazines, journals and manuals covering a broad variety of topics on rural life and agricultural practice including animal husbandry, herd books, mechanisation of farming, and crop varieties. Texts range from nineteenth century volumes to more recent publications.
Our archive collection comprises material relating to agriculture and rural life in the region. It includes a substantial Women’s Land Army collection, plans relating to the Derwent Valley Light Railway, administrative documents, rural estate records, legal and probate documents manufacturer’s accounts, advertising and promotional material, and manorial documents as well as personal collections. The material in the collection presently spans the early eighteenth century through to the late twentieth century.
