A HUNT has started to find the family of a Worcester woman mentioned in a fascinating Victorian-era book found over 100 miles away. 

Richard Sheldon has bought an old notebook which references Mrs Badley of 86 Blackpole Road in Worcester. 

Mr Sheldon, who lives in Todwick, South Yorkshire, now wants to locate any relatives of Mrs Badley and return the book to them. 

The notebook is dated back to 1887, 14 years before the end of the Victorian era. 

READ MORE- Nunnery Wood High School head boy wears skirt to class

READ MORE- Neighbours legend Alan Fletcher coming to Worcester on tour

Mrs Badley is one of several names referenced in the book across many decades. 

(Image: Richard Sheldon)

It references several items different people have bought over the years.

One entry, written on April 3, 1918, during the First World War, sees someone note they had bought two pigs. 

Mr Sheldon has a history of finding and buying fascinating keepsakes from the past. 

He has previously found a diary from the 1940s that ended up belonging to a Cold War spy. 

Another item collected by Mr Sheldon belonged to an Australian war hero, and he tracked down the family, including the soldier himself, who was still alive, and returned it to them. 

Mr Sheldon, a farmer by trade,  is also a watch collector, and often goes to antique fayres and buys old diaries and other keepsakes. 

He told the Worcester News: "It’s a fascinating little book and it would be lovely if we could find descendants of Mrs Badley and return the book to them. 

"Things of local interest are fascinating to me, a little nugget like this can really show us a lot about local history.  

"It's amazing how well-kept the book is considering how old it is.

"We will never know which extracts from the book are from Mrs Badley but hopefully we can find out more about her and her family."

Blackpole Road in the Victorian era

Blackpole Road was originally a small lane heading out of the city, with a few small cottages and farms running along this road, including Weavers Farm. 

The railways arrived in Worcester in the 1850s, and by the start of the 20th century, around a decade after the entry in the book, at least 15 new houses are recorded being built near the Brickfields railway bridge.

These houses were occupied by railway workers and market gardeners amongst others.