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Historical Records
Which Record Office Should I Visit?
Devon has three record offices and as each holds collections relating to its own geographical area, it is important to check, before making a visit, where the records which you wish to see are held. The following information will help you decide which record office best suits your own research needs. If you have any further queries about the location of a particular collection, please contact us by email or letter. The most commonly used records have been microfilmed. This includes the Church of England parish registers for the whole of Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, and all three record offices have a full set of these on either microfiche or microfilm. Some registers, particularly those which have been recently deposited, are not filmed, and in this case it is necessary to visit the record office which holds the originals, in order to see these. There is an ongoing programme to film parish registers. |
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![Detail from grant of Edward III to Tavistock Abbey, 1334. Bedford estates [W1258M/D84].](tavistockabbey.gif)
Other records of the parish, including those relating to the incumbent, churchwardens, vestry and Overseers of the Poor, are sometimes filmed. The Devon Record Office at Exeter holds microfiche copies of a substantial number of North Devon parish records of the 18th century and earlier. The originals are held at the North Devon Record Office. However, if you find that the parish records which you wish to see are not filmed, you must visit the record office which is responsible for holding the original records.
To find out which records are available on microfiche or microfilm at the three record offices, please follow the link below:
Devon Record Office in Exeter generally holds collections which relate to the whole County, including the Diocesan records, County Quarter Sessions and County Council collections. This includes estate and family collections which cover more than one area of Devon. North Devon Record Office holds those estate and family collections relevant to the North Devon area; some in this category which were previously held at Exeter have been transferred to North Devon Record Office since 1988. For a summary of the main collections held by each office please follow the link below:
To visit the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office's own website, please follow the link below: