HISTORICAL documents that lift the lid on Victorian life in the North-East go under the hammer later this week.

Shropshire auctioneer Mullock Madeley is to hold a specialist auction on Thursday of historical papers from around the country.

The star items in the sale include an witness account of the death of Sir William Huskisson in the world's first railway accident, a series of letters by Sir Edward Elgar and a sketch by Lord Baden-Powell.

However, a number of other items relating to North-East history are expected to attract considerable interest.

Among them are an 1863 deed of partnership between millers Ralph Gibson and John Archer, who were setting up in business at Carbury, near Darlington; property indentures from Appletreewick, North Yorkshire, in 1806; a curious document unravelling the complex legal affairs of a Bishopwearmouth man who was thought to have died but turned up very much alive; the bankruptcy papers of Sunderland schoolmaster Thomas Lawson; and plans for the water supplies to the iron town of Consett, County Durham.

Richard Westwood-Brookes, documents expert at Mullock Madeley, said: "Tracing your family tree, or researching local history has become one of the most popular pastimes in recent years.

"Obviously many documents are available for inspection in the local archives, but many thousands of documents still remain undiscovered and unknown.

"Our auctions offer literally hundreds of documents which to the genealogist and local historian can provide vital pieces of information never known before."