| Administrative History | Keith Henry Mantell (1921-) worked at the County Library in Derby and wrote several local history books, including 'Melbourne Story' (1949), 'Dovedale Guide' (1960) and 'Haddon Hall' (1964). With the County Librarian Edgar Osborne he also wrote 'Holker Hall. An illustrated survey of the Lancashire home of the Cavendish Family' (1953). He was a member of the Deserted Medieval Village Research Group and contributed information about deserted villages in Derbyshire to the group.
The Deserted Medieval Village Research Group was formed in 1952 by the archaeologist John Hurst (1927-2003) and historian and archaeologist Maurice Beresford (1920-2005), who together excavated the well known deserted village of Wharram Percy in North Yorkshire. With the help of a network of county correspondents, like Keith Mantell in Derbyshire, the group compiled lists of deserted villages for each county, and all identified sites were listed in their book 'Deserted Medieval Villages' in 1971. In 1971, the scope of their research extended beyond deserted villages and the group changed its name to the Medieval Village Research Group. In 1986 the Medieval Village Research Group and the Moated Sites Research Group merged to become the Medieval Settlement Research Group. |
| Custodial History | These papers were transferred to Derbyshire Record Office in July 1969. |