| Description | N Wheatcroft & Co., Cromford (coal merchants) and predecessors William Dawes & Co
Cash books 1940-1967, day books 1934-1968, general ledgers 1892-1963, invoice books 1938-1948, general ledgers 1915-1968, summary ledger 1949-1969 |
| Administrative History | By the end of the nineteenth century the business of Nathaniel Wheatcroft and Son had coal depots at railway stations in Buxton, Shottle, Derby, Hassop, Bakewell, Rowsley, Idridgehay, Miller's Dale and Wirksworth. The head office was at Cromford Wharf. There is room for ambiguity about the history of the firm and about the identity of Nathaniel Wheatcroft.
In or about 1796 Nathaniel Wheatcroft (1777-1862) began a canal carrying operation based at Cromford Wharf. His children include Nathaniel baptised at the Cromford Circuit in 1817. The coal merchant business, however, was undertaken by Nathaniel senior's nephew, a son of John Wheatcroft, also named Nathaniel, baptised at the Cromford Circuit in 1818. The sons of this Nathaniel were active in the business: John Adams Wheacroft (1855-1939) and Henry Wheatcroft (1856-1912), although John Adams Wheatcroft appears to have withdrawn in 1884 when a partnership with his brother was ended. |
| Custodial History | These records were deposited in Derbyshire Record Office on behalf of the Secretary of the Coal Society in March 1974. |