Personal Records

Many of the documents held by Nottinghamshire Archives are the records of individual people, from all sections of society.

The Archives are always pleased to receive new deposits from individuals.

These records are varied in scope and reflect many aspects of everyday life, and past and historic events.

Main groups of documents
Diaries
Letters
Personal papers

How to find the document you want

Main groups of documents include:

Diaries

Coverage: 18th - 20th centuries
Records of everyday occurrences, sometimes providing unique observations of and insights into significant events. They can also include travel journals and commonplace books.

Diaries held at Nottinghamshire Archives include William Moss' account of life in Mansfield 1874 - 1879 (ref.: M 379); Abigail Gawthern's record of life in Georgian Nottingham (ref.: M 23,904); Dame Laura Knight's account of the Nuremberg War Trials as the official British war artist, 1946 (ref.: M 24,067); and R W Pegg's scrapbooks of World War I (ref.: DD/1280).

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Letters

Coverage: 18th - 20th centuries
Letters between family relatives, friends, acquaintances, colleagues and associates on a variety of issues, both personal and professional.

Amongst the collections of letters held at the Archives are those of Albert Ball, the World War I air ace (DD/682 and DD/1180) and of the writer Mary Howitt (M 1009-1045 and DD/976).

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Personal papers

Coverage: 19th and 20th centuries
A variety of written records including recipe books, personal accounts, ration cards and wartime registration cards.

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How to find the document you want

There is a catalogue for each group of personal documents deposited at the archives. There are also person's and subject indexes to help locate the right catalogue for the collection you are looking for.

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