Research collection of Arthur Cossons (1893-1963), headmaster and local historian,1723-1960

The collection contains two types of material: original manuscripts acquired by Arthur Cossonspresumably in the course of his research; and notes concerning his research or lectures by him.Items in the collection including the following:

• Copy from the parish register of Trowell, Nottinghamshire recording the baptism of Phebe,daughter of John and Mary Barton in 1723. Undated, perhaps 1723 (MS 28/1);
• Copy from the parish register of Shelford, Nottinghamshire recording the baptism of George, sonof Richard and Rebecca Brown in 1743. 1764 (MS 28/2);
• Receipt of legacy from John Hebb to Henry Hebb of Keyworth, Nottinghamshire. 1761 (MS 28/3);
• Letter from James Beesby of London to Francis Gawrthorn, white lead manufacturer of Nottingham,seeking business. 1764 (MS 28/4);
• Memorandum of an agreement between Henry Hebb and Samuel Tudor relating to the sale of land inSpondon, Derbyshire. 1804 (MS 28/5);
• Letter and notes made by Ann Clarke for an index of Acts of Parliament relating toNottinghamshire. 1960 (MS 28/6);
• Exercise book containing notes made by Arthur Cossons entitled 'Local History and the StatuteBook', apparently related to a local history course prepared by him. Undated, c. 1960 (MS 28/7);
• Typescript list of acts of parliament relating to Nottinghamshire, presumably prepared by AnnClarke and Arthur Cossons. Undated, c. 1960 (MS 28/8).

Arthur Cossons was a school teacher in Beeston, Nottinghamshire for most of his working life. Hehad a life-long interest in local history and wrote a number of articles and short books on thesubject of turnpike roads. These included 'The Turnpike Roads of Nottinghamshire', published in 1934by G. Bell and Sons Ltd for the Historical Association and the Geographical Association and 'TheTurnpike Roads of Leicestershire and Rutland', published posthumously in Leicester by Kairos Pressin 2003, in addition to works on turnpike roads in Norfolk, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire andWiltshire.

Mr Cossons was local secretary of the Historical Association for many years and also lectured inthe Adult Education Department of the University of Nottingham on the subject of village history. Hedied in 1963.

Items in the collection have been arranged chronologically.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers.

LANGUAGE: English

• This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright on thedescription belongs to the University of Nottingham.

REPROGRAPHIC: Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposesonly, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

COPYRIGHT: Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult.Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advancein writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (emailmss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

The material in this collection was acquired by the library of The University of Nottingham inseparate transfers between 1950 and 1973.