Yorkshire CD books

Old and rare Yorkshire books as pdf file downloads

photograph of the book
"Hunter's Hallamshire" (History of Sheffield)
by Rev. Joseph Hunter

download version
produced by Yorkshire CD books ©

Ordering information & payment methods: please see separate page.


We have now cleared all of our CDroms and so we now do downloads only.

Note that downloads are set up manually and therefore will not be instant.

Payment can be made either by a PayPal account, or with a Credit Card via PayPal in your own currency, or by Sterling Cheque drawn on a UK bank.

Please see the ordering and payment information page
for details on methods of payment.


For sample pages, please see the links to the Acrobat (pdf) files given below.

The data in this downloadable pdf is computer searchable.



Hallamshire was a wapentake, and consisted of the area surrounding the town of Sheffield.

It contained the Ancient Parishes of

About the book:

The 1st edition of "Hunter's Hallamshire" is a large and now rare book, the pages measuring 10 by 15 inches with the printed area of the page being in some cases slightly larger than A4 size. The book is just over an inch thick and consists of just over 300 pages. In good condition the book will normally cost over 220 pounds.

The book contains numerous genealogical pedigrees, 9 full page plates (including St. Peter's church and St. Paul's church) and additionally 7 "vignettes".

Here is a transcription of the index and, in pdf (Acrobat format) the Title page, List of subscribers, and Preface of the book.

The above Acrobat file was extracted from the main pdf file and shows the quality of the images. You will need at least version 5 of Acrobat to open this file. If you do not have an up to date version please go to the Adobe web-site to obtain a free version of Acrobat Reader.

The contents are as follows:

The History of Sheffield

Topographical Survey of the parish of Sheffield

Out-parts of Hallamshire


A review of the book and CDrom by Richard Tetley:

Everyone who has an interest in Sheffield's history, or its inhabitants, should have a copy of this famous, and often quoted, book. Joseph Hunter was the pre-eminent local historian of his time. He compiled this outstanding, detailed and fascinating account of Sheffield's history and people, over many years of his life. He drew on original source material, which included archived manuscripts, and also letters, some of which are quoted in the book, written by people who were living at the time of the historical events concerned. Selecting just one instance; the transcriptions of the accounts of the demolition of Sheffield Castle are fascinating, not just as a record of the event, but also for the names of the local people involved in the demolition of the castle, and the purchase of the wood, slate, stone and other materials.
The mention of so many people by name, throughout the book, and the genealogical information on prominent local families, make this a rich source of material for the family historian, and the maps showing the parishes and wapentakes, also provided on the CD, are invaluable for anyone studying ancestry in Yorkshire.

Richard Tetley, Nuthall, May, 2002.


If you would prefer the real book(s), please contact The Idle Booksellers through their website.

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