| Administrative History | By 1835 Thomas Robinson (c1780-1850) was established in Bridge Street, Derby as a merchant of nail iron, a listing confirmed in the census of 1841. Census entries in subsequent years show his son Thomas Derby Robinson (1818-1875) at 49 Bridge Street; variously described as "ironmaster and nail manufacturer employing 50 men" (1851); "manufacturer of boiler rivets and horse nails" (1861) and "nailer employing 75 men" (1871). Census records show an area adjacent to 49 Bridge Street known as Robinson Court or Robinson's Yard, home by 1851 to rivetters, nailers and other such workers. The firm continued after the death of Thomas Derby Robinson, at some point moving to Parcel Terrace, Derby. The firm closed in 1959.
Robinson's yard is the noted in the Appendix of the Second Report of the Commissioners for Inquiring into the State of Large Towns and Populous Districts (1845). In 1843, the Commissioners had heard from William Baker MD of Derby on the "Description of a Court in Bridge Street Derby Called Robinson's Yard and of the Fever which prevailed there", p. 279. |
| Administrative History Sources | Pigot's Directory of Derbyshire etc., 1835
Census returns, 1841-1871
Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, 1912
S. Hilton (Spring 1976) 'E. and A. West Ltd: A Company History', in Derbyshire Miscellany, Vol 7 Part 5, pp. 244-249, at p. 249 |
| Custodial History | These records were transferred to Derbyshire Record Office from Derby Local Studies Library in July 2011. |