Records of the North Midland Presbyterian and Unitarian Association, 1785-1965

The collection contains accounts of the Association and its affiliated congregations from 1877 to the mid-twentieth century, along with bundles of twentieth century correspondence from various secretaries of the Association, which concern Association and chapel administration. There are several series of minutes, including Association Committee and Sub Committee meetings, and the North Midland Sunday School Association, dating from 1834 to 1961. There are documents relating to the Ilkeston Chapel Trust from 1785-1887 and a considerable amount of printed material including annual reports.

The origins of the Association can be traced back to 1785, but it did not develop into a significant body until the annual meetings of the Presbyterian ministers of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire began in 1798. The churches attending the Association were usually called ‘Presbyterian’ until the mid-19th century, but were independent congregations which later accepted Unitarian tenets. Under rules drawn up in 1865, membership of the Association was granted to Ministers and Delegates, nominated by the General Committee of the Association, of the Unitarian and Free Christian Churches at Belper, Boston, Coalville, Derby, Gainsborough, Hinckley, Kirkstead, Leicester, Lincoln, Loughborough, Mansfield, Newark, and Nottingham.

The collection has been divided according to form of material (e.g. accounts, correspondence) and arranged chronologically within these sections.

Access to older materials is open to all registered readers. Restrictions apply to records created within the last fifty years.

Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus:

Typescript Catalogue, 28 pp

At the National Register of Archives, London:

Old typescript catalogue, 17 pp. Please note that the version at King's Meadow Campus is more up to date.

On the World Wide Web: Catalogue accessible from the website for Manuscripts and Special Collections, Manuscripts Online Catalogue.

Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult.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 advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

The papers came to Nottingham University Library in 1981 and 1986 through their association with the records of other nonconformist chapels, notably of the High Pavement Chapel, Nottingham (see GB 0159 Hi).

Some material relating to Christ Church, Peas Hill, Nottingham, is present in this collection. See the High Pavement collection (Hi Z) for records of Christ Church.

Early minutes of meetings of the Presbyterian ministers of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and South Yorkshire, 1798-1856, are in the High Pavement Collection at The University of Nottingham (Hi V 21)