| Administrative History | The firm of Joseph Clayton & Sons (Chesterfield) Ltd, Tanners and Curriers was founded in 1840 by Joseph Clayton (born Peak Forest, Derbyshire 1820). On Joseph's death in 1889 the business passed to his sons John Morten Clayton and Joseph Edward Clayton who had joined the company in 1880.
The first works were established in Spa Lane, Chesterfield and as business increased extended to a site in Clayton Street, Chesterfield. Eventually the Spa Lane works were closed and the whole of the business concentrated and expanded in Clayton Street.
In 1913 a catastrophic fire almost destroyed the tannery which was still not completely rebuilt by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The company was incorporated in 1914 and became a private limited company.
In 1925 John Morton Clayton and Joseph Edward Clayton retired and the company was reformed by local businessmen. |
| Custodial History | These records were transferred from Chesterfield Library: Local Studies in August 2016. No further information about the provenance of the papers is known. Further records were donated by a former Chairman of the firm in February 2023 following the sale of the site that had operated as Spire Tannery since 2018. The new owners of the site donated further records in March and August 2023. |