Nottinghamshire County Council Records
In 1888 the Local Government Act established elected councils in each administrative county to take over the administrative functions and role of the Court of Quarter Sessions. On 15 January 1889 the first County Council election in Nottinghamshire was held, with the first statutory Nottinghamshire County Council meeting taking place on 1 April 1889. This was strengthened under the 1894 Local Government Act.
Nottinghamshire Archives holds records of the County Council, organised into different council departments. In addition there are individual series of minutes, title deeds and reports. Any function performed or service provided by the County Council may have surviving records within this category.
Main groups of documents
Council minutes
Committee meetings minutes
Title deeds
Year books
Vehicle licensing records
Police officers registers
How to find the document you want
Main groups of documents include:
Council minutes
Coverage: 1889 - 1974
Minutes of the meetings of the County Council. Often include committee reports which were presented to the council for approval.
Committee meetings minutes
Coverage: 19th century - 20th century
Minutes of the meetings of various committees. These committees include Health, Air Raid Precautions, Planning, Education and Police.
Title deeds
Coverage: 18th century - 20th century
Title deeds are the records of the buying and selling of property, and can provide useful information on previous owners of properties and the nature of the house and land.
County Council title deeds comprise records of property owned by the council.
Year books
Coverage: 1890 - 1987
Annual reports published by the council, which include lists of councillors.
Vehicle licensing records
Coverage: 1903 - 1955
Nottinghamshire County Council was originally responsible for vehicle registration, and issued a one or two letter identification mark for each vehicle. The letters together with a number would be displayed on a plate attached to the vehicle.
- Between 1903 and 1920 Nottinghamshire County Council issued numbers between 1 and 8972 with the prefix AL, and details of each vehicle can be found in a series of registration books.
- Between 1921 and 1955 the council issued numbers between 1 and 9999 with the prefixes AL, NN, RR and VO, and details of each vehicle can be found on individual registration forms.
The registration documentation provides details of name and address of first and subsequent owners, type, colour and unloaded weight of vehicle, use: private, trade or public conveyance, date and time of registration, chassis and engine number for later vehicles.
Not all registration documentation survives and many forms were lost before deposit. Surviving records are retained within the Licensing Department records.
Police officer registers
Coverage: 1840 - 1920
Registers of officers serving within the County force. Earlier registers provide only dates of appointment; later ones also detail transfers, career histories, marital status, number of children and physical descriptions. Also includes a descriptive register for the Newark Borough Force, 1892 - 1947. These records are held within the Constabulary Department Records.
How to find the document you want
There are catalogues for County Council records available in the archives search room. They are organised into department, and a list of departments is available.
There is a place index, a photographs index and a maps and plans index available in the archives search room.
Staff are able to check if a vehicle licensing document is available for particular cars on provision of the full registration mark. Contact us for more information.
