Catholic Diocese of Nottingham

Diocese of Nottingham: Archives & history

Archives
The Nottingham Diocesan Archives cover the counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, and Lincolnshire. They represent the collective history of the Diocese since it was formed in 1850.

On this website will be found details of the various ways the Archives may be contacted, as well as the General Catalogue. This lists the various sources held in Willson House, as well as indicating the degree to which they have been catalogued. Not on the web, but also listed is information regarding other Indexes in the Archives.

Accessibility
The Archives are usually open one day a week, depending on the commitments of the Archivists. Invariably this is a Monday, but as this varies, it is wise for researchers to contact the Archives beforehand in order to make an appointment.

This can be done in the following ways:-

By post to:-
The Archives, Willson House, Derby Road, Nottingham. NG1 5AW.
Please enclose a SAE for a reply.
The archives can be contacted by telephone on 0115 953 9803.
The Archives may be contacted by archives@nrcdt.org.uk
The Assistant Archivist may be contacted by telephoning 01623 793564.
The Assistant Archivist can be reached on drgrahamfoster@yahoo.co.uk

Indexes and Catalogues

The following Catalogues/Indexes give details of the information held in the Nottingham Diocesan Archives:

(Please note that some of these resources are extremely large and will take time to download)

	Web page	File size (KB)	Spreadsheet resource	File size (KB)
The General Catalogue	Click here	12	Click here	99
The Year Book Indexes Volume 1	Click here	1885	Click here	773
The Year Book Indexes Volume 1 Illustrations	Click here	16	Click here	18
The Year Book Indexes Volume 2	Click here	236	Click here	81
The Year Book Indexes Volume 2 Illustrations	Click here	61	Click here	36
The Consolidated Index	Click here	84	Click here	49
The Parish Magazine Index	Click here	146	(PDF file)
The Parish Magazine Index Volume 1	Click here	2553	Click here	848
The Parish Magazine Index Volume 2	Click here	527	Click here	174

The General Catalogue
The General Catalogue shows the overall nature of the collections held in the Nottingham Diocesan Archives. It includes material on Bishops, clergy, and laity who have served the Diocese of Nottingham. Also listed, are sources relating to the various missions/parishes, Confraternities, and Religious Orders. For researchers this is a useful index that gives an over-view of the material that is available. The other indexes list particular features in greater detail.
The General Catalogue also indicates the degree to which the various sources have been catalogued, listed or indexed.

The Year Book Index
Since 1921 the Diocese of Nottingham has published a Diocesan Year Book with the exception of 1926. The Diocesan Year Book may be regarded as the official record of Diocesan events. It includes details on each Parish, Confraternities, personnel, and reports on the major events happening in that year. When appropriate, Obituaries are included. Illustrations/photographs are also indexed.

The Diocesan Year Book Index lists entries by year and page numbers, and is in two volumes.:-

Volume 1 covers the period 1921-2000, that is, the Episcopates of Bishops Dunn, McNulty, Ellis, and McGuinness.

Volume 2 covers the period commencing 2001 and the Episcopate of Bishop McMahon.

The Consolidated Index
The Consolidated Index contains details of printed/typed manuscript articles related to the Diocese of Nottingham which are held in the Archives. The material is contained in books, journals, pamphlets, and theses. This section includes, for example, biographies of priests, writings by local Religious personnel, Parish Histories, Journals including Catholic Life, and theses on Diocesan History and the Irish in Leicester.

The Parish Magazine Index
The Nottingham Diocesan Archives contain a varied collection of Parish Magazines from 1869-date, covering nearly 50% of parishes from the Fens to the High Peak, including cities like Nottingham, suburban developments and widely spaced, old rural established missions.

Despite their various differences, Parish Magazines possess several common elements, and although their contents may be regarded as anecdotal at times, their contents are a reflection of times past. They provide a first hand account of trends and changes at the parish level.

Firstly, they contain the kind of practical information found in our present-day weekly Parish Newsletters. Secondly, the magazines have many devotional/doctrinal articles written in a variety of genres, including plays, diaries, lecture notes and essays. Thirdly, there are articles relating to contemporary concerns involving Catholics, whether of local, national or international significance. Finally, the magazines contain a wide variety of miscellaneous articles including recipes, and answers to correspondents’ questions.

The Photographic Index
This is in the process of compilation and should be on line by mid-2008. In the meantime, researchers can contact the Archives with individual or specific enquiries.