This collection represents the historical portion of the Library of Appleby Grammar School in Cumbria (formerly in the old county of Westmorland) and has been deposited on indefinite loan. The nucleus of the collection was the personal library of an early headmaster of the school, Reginald Bainbrigg [1545-1612?].Books in this collection range in publication date from the Fifteenth Century to the Twentieth Century. The collection can be searched on the library's catalogue and there is also a printed catalogue by the late Edgar Hinchcliffe, formerly a master at the school, available from the Special Collections reading room.The collection contains predominantly classical, theological, literary and historical works, as well as a number of early sixteenth-century English bindings. There are many sixteenth-century editions of works by classical authors, such as Cicero, while other highlights include several works by the English philosopher and enlightenment thinker John Locke and a 1561 Basel imprint of Martin Luther's Quaestionum Sacrarum.

This is a collection of material brought together by, or relating to, local nineteenth century collectors John and Thomas Bell. There are four boxes relating to the local book trade, seven more relating to the Port of Tyne, and forty packets of cuttings, correspondence and other miscellaneous items which are useful for local history.

Consists of 42 prints made from James Gillray's original engravings and documents relating to Newcastle University's acquisition of the prints.

The Bell-White Collection comprises printed and manuscript items which had been assembled by keen collectors John (1783-1864) and Thomas (1785-1860) Bell in the Nineteenth Century, some of which material had subsequently been purchased by fellow collector, Robert White (1802-1874). The collection focuses on local history and is a particularly good resource for local political history as it includes election addresses, squibs, broadsides and bills. Local poetry and songs are also represented.There is also a large collection of genealogical material relating to local families which contain documents relating to business concerns, deaths, events, honours, household matters, legal affairs, property, sales, social lives and occupations, as well as containing family pedigrees, illustrations and correspondence.

Report of the Workhouse Committee upon the subject of the charges brought by Mr Carr, the Clerk of the Board, against Mr Johnson, the Master of the Workhouse, in regards to misappropriation of food intended for the inmates.

The examined evidence includes a vastly detailed record of the finances and the purchases of the workhouse over a six-month period, such as the weekly consumption of different commodities from bread and beef to split peas and soap, which could be of considerable interest to the social and economic historian. Other material includes the detail of Carr's charges, minutes of the meetings at which they were considered, witness statements and documents revealing the care with which Alnwick Workhouse was managed.

19th Century printed ephemera, much of which originates from North East England.

The Grey Tracts reflect the interests of their former owner, the 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845) whose Whig government was responsible for the 1832 Reform Act, 1833 Factory Act and the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. The pamphlets cover a broad range of historical, social and economic subjects including colonial policy, public finance and banking, the Corn Laws and agriculture, poor relief, slavery, Catholicism, Ireland and the Greek Revolution.

The diaries of Thomas Sopwith (1803-1879), mining engineer, land surveyor and philanthropist in the north-east of England, cover the period 1828-1879. We hold both the original diaries, and a copy of the material held on 16 reels of microfilm. They form a meticulous account of the professional life of Sopwith, detailing his work, projects and his travels both for business and for enjoyment. The diaries also include sketches and illustrations of people, views, and buildings and often include descriptions of lectures and conversations with people Sopwith met on his travels.A particularly notable aspect of the diaries is Sopwith's descriptions of journeys he made by rail, often along newly-opened railway lines in a period where rail travel was in its early stages.

The Cowen Tracts are almost two thousand pamphlets which were formerly owned by local (radical) M.P., Joseph Cowen (1829-1900). The tracts date mostly from the mid- to late-Nineteenth Century and reflect Cowen's interest in the social, educational, political and economic issues of the day.

There is some earlier material, such as Deed of incorporation for the insurance of ships printed by T. Angus, St. Nicholas' Church-Yard, Newcastle (1778). Pamphlets were an effective form of public debate because they could be circulated to a wider audience than books and authors could remain anonymous. The Cowen Tracts discuss Irish politics, foreign policy, women's rights, religion, education and public health and include such titles as The Union programme for 1880: constructive, not destructive, Irish legislation [1879?], Are women fit for politics?: are politics fit for women [185-] and The education of the agricultural labourer: a paper read before the Morpeth Chamber of Agriculture, on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 1870 by M.W. Ridley (1870).

These papers were originally accumulated by the office of William Dickson, overseer of the Alnwick Corn Exchange from its opening in 1862 until 1880. Dickson, a solicitor in Alnwick and local benefactor, in fact raised the money for the building of the Alnwick Corn Exchange, and then oversaw the building of the Exchange, before then taking responsibility for its running for the next twenty years. These papers are particularly fascinating as the Exchange was used not only as a market but also as a venue for entertainment, and both the accounts and correspondence files contain much information about the acts which were booked druing this period.

The archive contains, in roughly chronological order, correspondence and legal agreements relating to the purchase of the site and the subsequent building programme; correspondence about similar markets in Berwick and Kelso, a Broadside announcing the opening and detailing the functions of the new Exchange, accounts for the period 1862 - 1880, correspondence for the period 1862 - 1880; details of the Exchange's sale in 1880.