Devon County Council

We hope that you will find your visit to the Devon Record Office at Great Moor House both enjoyable and rewarding.  This page explains most of the procedures which are necessary for the smooth running of the office and the protection of the documents held here.  Your help in observing them will allow you to gain the most benefit from your visit and make the searchroom a pleasant place in which to work. The office closes for two weeks each February for stocktaking.

• Booking a place at the Record Office
• Booking a microfiche reader
• Registering as a searcher
• Showing proof of identity
• Coats, bags and refreshments
• Using laptop computers
• Indexes and catalogues
• Searchroom computer terminals
• Microfiche and microfilms
• Ordering documents
• Caring for documents
• Copying documents
• Additional Searchroom Rules

Booking a place at the Record Office

It is not necessary to make an appointment or to book a seat before visiting Devon Record Office.  You do not need to pre-order any documents before your visit as all are now held on the one site.  However, it is important to read the following information about what to bring with you before you visit us.

Note that you must book a seat at Plymouth and West Devon Record Office before visiting there.

Booking a microfiche reader

Devon Record Office has 29 microfiche readers and 8 microfilm readers.  Most of these machines are available on a first-come first-served basis.  However we do reserve 6 of our microfiche readers for visitors who come from outside the county or from overseas.  We take bookings for these microfiche readers for a half-day at a time.  Morning sessions are from 10 am to 2 pm, and afternoon sessions from 2 pm to 6 pm.  If you fit into this category and wish to book a microfiche reader before you visit, please email us at devrec@devon.gov.uk , or telephone us on 01392 - 384253.

Finding the Devon Record Office in Great Moor House

All visitors must enter Great Moor House through the double glass doors at the front entrance.  There are stairs and a ramp suitable for wheelchairs running up to the front entrance.  Walk to the left past the Great Moor House reception desk and the entrance to the Devon Record Office refreshment room, which is available for the use of record office visitors, is on your left.  The locker room where all bags, coats and umbrellas must be placed is on your right.  Continue along the corridor, past the display cabinets and through the double doors to the Devon Record Office reception area.

Registering as a searcher

All new visitors to the office are required to register with the staff behind the reception desk before proceeding to the searchroom.  

All searchers who have registered on a previous visit must book in for the day with the reception area staff before entering the searchroom.  If the reception area is unattended, you will need to register or book in at the searchroom desk.  New visitors should complete a registration form and read the office rules (on the reverse) before signing the form.  Your signature indicates that you agree to abide by the rules.  Proof of identity is required – see below.  Your details will be entered on our searchers' registration computer database.

On subsequent visits, always show your CARN ticket or other form of identity, or give your name to one of the members of the staff at the reception desk on your arrival.  They will enter your visit into that day's diary on the computer database.

There is no charge for using the record office at Great Moor House.

Showing proof of identity

Once you have completed the registration form, a member of staff will ask you to produce some proof of identity which, in most cases, should bear your name and current address.  Certain items, such as official ID cards and passports that bear the holder's name and photograph, are also acceptable.

We prefer to issue all searchers who intend to visit us more than once with a CARN (Countrywide Archive Research Network) ticket.  The office is a member of this network, and therefore can issue you with a CARN ticket, which is valid for 4 years and accepted at many record offices.  Certain specified forms of proof of identity are required in order to obtain a CARN ticket from our record office.

The following documents are suitable as proof of identity in order to use our office:

a previously issued CARN ticket; driving licence;  utility bill (e.g. gas, electricity, telephone bill); medical card with address; pension card/book; family allowance book; bank statement; benefits book or equivalent; disabled person’s registration; post office savings book; passport; other official ID card (e.g. student card); official letter with address; vehicle registration or insurance document.

We check and update your proof of identity (name and address) once every 12 months, so if you do not present a CARN ticket when booking in, we will ask you to produce another suitable proof of identity once a year.  If you fail to produce proof of identity on your second visit, we reserve the right to restrict you to using microforms until you have done so.

Coats, bags and refreshments

Please leave any backpacks, briefcases, handbags, umbrellas, body pouches, laptop computer cases, coloured document folders or wallets, clipboards with covers and plastic bags in the lockers in the locker room.  You may only bring laptop computers, transparent document folders or wallets, notebooks, clipboards without covers, loose papers, glasses, cameras, keys and pencils into the searchroom with you. We can supply a clear transparent plastic bag to hold the listed items.

This is both a security measure and to avoid the possibility of people falling over them while walking around the searchroom.  Unless you are wearing your coat, you should hang it on the secure coat rack or the coat hooks provided in the locker room, or place it in your locker.  You will need £1 coins to operate both locker and secure coat rack - these are refunded when you have finished using them. There are men’s, women’s, and disabled toilets along the corridor to the right of the locker room.

The refreshment room, which is designed for the use of Devon Record office searchers, contains tables, chairs and two machines which dispense hot and cold drinks and snacks.  The room also contains six public access computer terminals with Internet access for the use of record office visitors.  You can print off web-pages, and collect the printouts at the reception desk. It costs 12p for a black and white printout and £1.00 for a colour print-out.  

Using laptop computers

We can accommodate laptop computer owners who wish to plug in their computers in the searchroom, and Wi-Fi internet access is available.  All laptop bags must be stored in the lockers.

Search-room computer terminals

These computer terminals provide access to specific online archive and library catalogues.  The most useful online archive catalogue website is Access to Archives (A2A) at www.a2a.org.uk, which includes 40-50% of our catalogued collections.  These computers can also be used to search sources provided on CD-Rom, including censuses and indexes as they become available.  You can print off web pages and census entries, and collect the printouts at the reception desk.  If you wish to use websites other than those available on these computers, you should use the computers in the refreshment room.

Finding out about sources

Initial enquiries about the sources we hold should be made before registering or booking in.  If you have been informed that the sources in our record office may be able to assist you in your research, enter the searchroom, and explain to one of the members of staff on duty the nature of your research. They will explain how the system of catalogues and indexes works and indicate which are relevant to you.

Lists of parish registers, non-conformist, civil and cemetery registers, memorial inscriptions, electoral registers, an index to the Inland Revenue Wills Series, 1812-1857, miscellaneous wills indexes and bishops’ transcripts and 1841 and 1861 census place indexes are on the shelves above and beside the wooden microfiche and index cabinets.

There are three main card indexes - a subject index, a place name index and a personal name index.  The subject card index incorporates a wills index and a maps and plans index.  The cards in the indexes refer you to catalogues that are stored on the library shelves near the searchroom desk.

Note that the subject index was kept up to date and added to from catalogues recently completed until 2002.  However the place name index and personal name index have not been added to since the 1970s, so that they only contain references to documents listed in collections catalogued up to that date.  Of course, material in collections which are uncatalogued will not be included in any of our card indexes.

If you find a card in one of the indexes that is of interest, you should always then look up the catalogue entry for the particular document/s.  Usually, the catalogue entry will contain more detail about the records and can help you to make a more informed decision about whether or not to order them.  There are also several specialised card indexes in the searchroom.  Please ask the searchroom staff about these.

Microfiche and microfilms

Microfiche or microfilms (i.e. microforms) of commonly used documents such as parish registers are made available for researchers' use, to preserve and protect the original documents, some of which are now very fragile.  A self-service system operates for all microfiche or films of parish registers, Inland Revenue Wills, non-conformist registers, filmed shipping registers, land tax assessments, tithe maps and apportionments, the National Probate Calendar and all other filmed sources available in the searchroom.  You are expected to replace the microfiche in the correct place in the drawer after you have finished using them.  Originals will not normally be produced when there is a microform copy available.

• More detailed information about our microfiche and microfilm holdings

Ordering documents

If you wish to order a document, you first need to choose a seat at one of the searchroom tables, and make a note of the table number.  Documents are ordered through the staff at the searchroom desk.  You are required to provide the reference numbers of the documents and your table number.  We recommend that documents required on Saturday mornings are ordered in advance.

The number of documents produced at one time for each searcher is at the discretion of the archivist on duty, but there is a general limit of three items per searcher (an item may be a volume, a single document, a file or a bundle).  This is to avoid congestion in the searchroom and the risk of documents being replaced in the wrong bundles, files or boxes.  The member of staff will check the location of the documents, and fill in an order slip for you.   

A member of staff will then collect the documents from the strongroom, bring them to your table with necessary support or preservation aids, and give you the documents, together with a copy of the order slip for each.  Documents cannot be produced if they are too fragile for safe handling; these are classified as 'unfit for production'.

You must be present at your table to receive the documents from the staff member.  You are asked to retain your copies of the order slips with their relevant documents, and return them together to a member of staff at the searchroom desk after use.  When you have finished using the documents, please do not simply leave them on the table or place them on the searchroom desk when you leave.

Three members of staff should be on duty in the searchroom from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. and from 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.  This number is reduced to two members of staff during tea-breaks, between 1.00 to 2.00 p.m., and on other occasions if staff are absent.  Document production times may increase at lunchtime because of this.  Only two members of staff are on duty from 5.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. and on Saturday mornings.  Documents can be ordered at lunchtime between 1.00 and 2.00 pm., and until 4.45 p.m. each day.  Documents ordered by 4.45 p.m. can be used until we close at 6.00 p.m.

If possible, allow plenty of time for your visit.  It is rarely possible to come in, order a document and obtain the maximum benefit from it, if you have only half an hour to spare.

Caring for documents

Please treat all documents with care.  Remember that they are unique and irreplaceable.  They are not always in the best condition when we receive them, and it is your responsibility to make sure that they last as long as possible.

When you are using original documents or microfiche, use a pencil at all times.  Do not place your notebook or sleeve on top of the document, or lean on it.  This applies to maps as well as volumes and loose documents.  Cushions and foam wedge supports are provided for supporting the spines of open volumes, and to prop them up at a convenient angle for reading.  Weights are provided to hold maps and other documents flat where necessary.  We do not recommend the use of cotton gloves for handling documents, but these can be provided if they are needed in particular cases.  Please return the cushions, foam supports and weights after use to the table or shelf where they are stored.

• More information on handling documents in the searchroom

Copying documents

All photocopying of original documents must first be approved, and is carried out by a member of staff.  Photocopies are not done on demand, and may have to be collected at the end of your visit, on a subsequent visit, or sent to you by post.  Photocopy order/copyright declaration forms are available at the searchroom desk, and must be completed before copies are made. Remember that not all documents can be photocopied.  The record office staff's first duty is to preserve the document from any risk of damage.  

Ask about alternative methods of  document reproduction, such as photography.  Photography of documents (without flash) is allowed with the permission of the archivist on duty.  You must complete the appropriate form if required under copyright law, while photographs are being taken, and you must hand it in to the archivist on duty before you leave.

The use of hand-held scanners is not permitted.

Tracing of documents is only allowed with the permission of the archivist on duty.  A melinex sheet must always be used when tracing documents.

• More information on photocopying
• More information on photography

Additional Search-room Rules

1. Mobile telephones must be turned off before you enter the searchroom.
2. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the building.
3. Children and dogs are permitted in the searchroom only at the discretion of the archivist on duty.
4. Silence should be maintained as far as possible.
5. Any person wishing to publish a transcript, facsimile or image of any document in any published format, including a book, journal article, CD-Rom or on the Internet, must first obtain the permission of the County Archivist and/or the owner of the document.