| Description | The Gould family were tenants of Pilsbury Farm in Hartington, part of the estates of the Dukes of Devonshire, from the early 17th century. William Gould, born at Pilsbury in 1739, was land agent to the 3rd Duke of Portland from 1780 to 1795 and from 1784 performed similar duties for his landlord, William 5th Duke of Devonshire William's elder son, Joseph, also farmed Pilsbury and was agent to the 5th and 6th Dukes of Devonshire Ludwall, which William partly owned and partly rented, adjoined Pilsbury. Lowend near Sheen was also Gould family property but was tenanted, in the late 18th century by Richard Riley. Sometime after 1789 William Gould bought about 13 acres at Harding Gap, near Heathcote in Hartington. Other Gould lands outside Derbyshire were at Ordsall, Retford and Orton on the Hill. These title deeds and associated papers were transferred from a London firm of solicitors via the British Records Association (BRA no. 1784) in June 1980. |
| Custodial History | Acquired by Derbyshire Record Office in 1980. |