Raiders of the Lost Archives

Welcome to our hall of fame. This is a selection of some of our prize possessions – documents, photographs, books, pamphlets and maps (they will all find a place eventually). Here you will be able to see old favourites of ours as well as exciting new acquisitions. New items will be added regularly and past glories will still shine in an ‘album’ of treasures from the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland. Follow the link by ‘clicking’ on Other Office Treasures to see what you may have missed!

Recently acquired by the Record Office, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund, this letter from George Stephenson to his son, Robert, tells the story of  the initial exploitation of Snibston Colliery. Staying near Ashby de la Zouch, Stephenson found the local workers intractable ("we can make nothing of the men here, for there[sic] ideas are too high, they will not get the coals & put them to the shaft under 3/- ") and so made arrangements to bring in labourers from Newcastle "by water to Gainsborough, from thence up the canal to Loughborough".

Please click on the links below to see the letter split into four sections :