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Yanks bought piece of our history but it's staying here!
Last year it was feared that the ancient trading ledger would end up overseas after it was sold to Yale University Library in America.
But in December, Culture Minister Margaret Hodge stepped in and placed a temporary export ban on the 17th-century document following objections to its sale abroad.
Archivists from Derbyshire County Council have been fighting to ensure it remains in the county and they have now succeeded in their aim because Mrs Hodge has announced a permanent export ban on the item.
It means the ledger, which was kept by a local lead trader and records transactions over 30 years, will be housed permanently in the Derbyshire Record Office in Matlock.
The county council’s cabinet member for cultural services, Bob Janes, is delighted by the news.
He said: “This document is of great interest to a lot of people, not only specialist researchers and historians but to anyone with an interest in Derbyshire’s history.
“It sheds light on an important time in Derbyshire’s history, when the rapid expansion of the lead industry affected social and political, as well as economic, developments.
“It would have been a shame to see the document leave the country and I’m delighted the minister was persuaded to make the temporary ban permanent.
“We will give the accounts a good home in our record office and we will ensure they are preserved for the future and fully available to everyone.”
The ledger, thought to be the earliest surviving record of the lead trade in Derbyshire, mentions places that were central to the industry, such as Cromford, and names families living in Wirksworth.
Derbyshire County Council was an unsuccessful bidder when the 400-page ledger was sold at auction in June last year.
Following the sale, the council objected to it going abroad on the grounds of its “outstanding local and national significance”.
The UK’s Export of Works of Art and Objects of Interest committee advised the culture minister to defer the export licence.
The county council was then given until Monday January 14 to secure the £3,800 needed to buy it, which it duly did.
County archivist Dr Margaret O’Sullivan was among the team who worked to keep the lead trading document in the country.
She said: “The transfer overseas of this very important record would have been a very great loss to the people of Derbyshire and the country as a whole.
“Historical documents do still come to light and we have to make sure that we do our best to ensure that they stay in the country.”
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County: Derbyshire
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