The Devon Record Office forms one of the services provided by the Lifelong Learning Branch within the Devon County Council's Directorate of Environment, Economy and Culture. On these pages you can read about our aims and objectives, and find out more about the service which we provide at our premises in Exeter.
The headquarters of the Devon Record Office are now located at Great Moor House, Bittern Road, Sowton, Exeter, about 3 miles east of the city centre. The Devon Record Office holds collections from 3 previous repositories - the Exeter City Library, the East Devon Record Office (formerly known as the Exeter City Record Office) and the old Devon County Record Office. The record office was located in Castle Street, Exeter from 1977 until early in 2005. The current Devon Record Office at Great Moor House replaces the premises at Castle Street and an outstore at Marsh Barton.
Collecting Records
The Devon Record Office collects records relating to the county of Devon and its families, except where the primary connection is with Plymouth. These records include those of local government, the Church of England and other denominations, of individuals, families, businesses, societies, schools - any of the groups who have contributed to the past life of the county or who do so today.
Preserving Records
Devon's documentary heritage has survived because the creators and inheritors of these records have taken care of them, and we are very grateful to those owners who have placed their documents in the record office. We accept documents either as a gift - securing their public availability for all time - or on deposit, with the depositor retaining legal ownership. We then store these documents in temperature and humidity-controlled strong rooms protected by fire and intruder alarms. They are sorted, catalogued and indexed to ensure that they are accessible for researchers in the future.
The record office staff will also willingly examine papers kept in private custody or by an institution (whether these are old or of recent date) and advise on their safe-keeping.
Conserving Records
The conservation staff apply their skills to the preservation and physical needs of the collections as appropriate within the overall programme of the record office. You can read here about our conservation policy, and the work of the conservation studio. Our conservators can provide you with information and advice on the best way to create records which will last into the future, and to preserve and store records still in the care of other institutions or in private custody. They can also offer advice to organisations wishing to display documents in an exhibition.
Providing Access to Records
We provide facilities for members of the public to look at and use our records for their own research. If you are interested in the records we hold you are welcome to visit our search-rooms. We can provide basic information on the types of document we hold before you visit us.
Providing Information from our Records
If you are unable to come to the record office in person, you can write or email us for information on the sources which we hold. Members of staff can undertake limited searches without charge through the indexes, catalogues and records we hold, so long as precise information is provided (email: devrec@devon.gov.uk). For more complex or lengthy enquiries and for research requests we offer, at a fee, our own research service.
Outreach
Staff are able to give talks on the work of the Record Office and on various aspects of local history.
Tours of the record office can be arranged for students, family history and local history groups. If you wish to request a talk or tour for your group, please contact the Record Office and ask to speak to Katherine Weston, the Heritage and Outreach Officer, who is responsible for outreach activities.
Tel: 01392-380573
Email: katherine.weston@devon.gov.uk
A series of courses on family history and local history are run occasionally by archivists from Devon Record Office. If you live locally and are interested, please see below for further information:
Devon Record Office issues a newsletter twice a year, in May and November. Current and past issues can also be accessed on this website:
We have produced a series of guides to various types of sources and to popular research topics. Lists of these and of other publications are available in printed form and on this website. Some of the guides are also published in full on this website.
You can read here about our policies on:
Anyone can come along to the record office and carry out their own research using original documents or copies of these. Our visitors come from a wide range of backgrounds. You may be researching family history in Devon, or finding out about the history of your house. You may be completing a school or university project on an aspect of general or local history, or researching the history of your own parish. Professional record agents, archaeologists, architects, land agents, school teachers and academic staff of universities and colleges are also regular visitors to our office.
It is advisable to prepare for your visit by obtaining information on our holdings and services from this website before you arrive. If the information you require is not on our web-pages, please contact us by email, fax, letter or telephone. We can check our indexes and suggest items for you to consult. Our search-rooms are often extremely busy and we may not have as much time as we would like to discuss your particular requirements if you arrive unprepared. This applies particularly if you are a student planning an essay, dissertation or project. If you are unsure whether sources exist for your research topic, it is best for you to consult us at an early stage in the planning of your work, and before you actually make your first visit.
We will also endeavour to direct you to other repositories if the sources you are seeking are not held at our office.
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