RECORDS OF THE BOROUGH OF CHESTERFIELD. 163 
printed his list in the “ Gentleman’s Magazine,” to which he was 
so frequent a contributor. Had this been done, the disgraceful 
loss or purloining of public property would in all probability not 
have occurred. As it is, nearly fifty of the seventy scheduled 
items of Dr. Pegge’s list had disappeared when Mr. Cutts drew up 
his list in 1857 ; some of the greatest interest and value. Dr. 
Pegge’s schedule also affords evidence of the comparatively recent 
loss of ‘‘ the Black Book,” wherein were copies of all the ancient 
charters, evidences as to customs, etc., and which was extant in 
his days. Possibly it may be in my power to give some faint clue 
that «may lead to the recovery of some of the missing archives. 
In the autumn of 1866, when in conversation with the late Mr. 
Waller, of Chesterfield, in his house in the Market Place, on the 
subject of modern trades’ unions and their connection with 
medieval guilds, Mr. Waller remarked, “I have,” or, (“ I can show 
you”) my memory does not serve me as to which expression was 
used) “ some medieval rolls that I can’t make out, but they refer 
to guilds at Chesterfield and Dronfield.” This was to be done 
when we both had more leisure. In 1868, when at the College of 
Arms, I copied out Dr. Pegge’s list of the Chesterfield archives, 
and was struck with the mention of the Guild Rolls of Dronfield 
and Chesterfield. I wrote to Mr. Waller on the subject ; he re- 
plied that very likely they were those he had named, and renewed 
his promise of showing them to me. Unfortunately, through 
mutual misunderstanding and dilatoriness, my inspection of them 
never took place. Perhaps communications with the represen- 
tatives of the late Mr. Waller might lead to the recovery of these 
and other missing archives. 
Chesterfield, however, still preserves a remarkable and original 
series of Royal Charters, as well as other valuable and interesting 
documents. Mr. Gee’s scholarly munificence has caused the 
whole of these documents to be printed zx extenso, with various 
fac-similes of the more interesting ones, as well as drawings of 
seals, and the result is a beautifully printed and handsome volume 
of about 200 pages. ‘The work of transcribing, translating, and 
editing these archives was entrusted to the capable pen of Mr. 
