Devon Heritage Services
Our Collections
Main Archive Collections at Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter
Dartington Hall Trust Archive at Devon Heritage Centre
Local Studies Collections at Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter
Main Collections at North Devon Record Office, Barnstaple
Local Studies Collections at North Devon Local Studies Centre
Microfiche and Microfilm copies
Digitized Collections
Online Catalogues
Indexes and Lists
Guides to sources and research topics
Main archive collections at the Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter
County of Devon
Devon Quarter Sessions, 1592-1971, covering criminal jurisdiction for the county and civil administration (including records of county roads and bridges, police stations, alehouses, poor law unions, plans of public undertakings, gaols, lunatic asylums).
Devon County Council, 1889-1974, covering county administration (including council and committee minutes, accounts, records of local authority schools, etc.)
District Councils
Records of the former district councils in East, South (including Torbay), and Mid Devon, 1889-1974, with some earlier material (mainly minutes and accounts, with some rating records and planning applications).
City of Exeter
Records of city administration, c.1100 to the present day (including council minutes, accounts, court rolls, customs accounts, charters, deeds, and legal papers, with exceptional coverage of the medieval period).
Diocese of Exeter
Records of the diocese (which included most of Cornwall up to 1875), 13th-20th centuries (including bishops' registers of institutions, ordinations, licences, and consecrations, faculties, marriage bonds and allegations, tithe maps and apportionments, glebe terriers, consistory court act and deposition books, testamentary and other papers).
Anglican Parishes
Records of churches and congregations, 16th century to the present day, including registers (coverage for all Devon, Plymouth and Torbay on microfiche /microfilm or unfilmed originals), churchwardens' accounts, overseers' accounts and papers, charity deeds and other records; minutes of civil parishes from 1894.
Nonconformist Churches
Records of Baptist, Unitarian, Congregationalist/Independent congregations and Society of Friends, 17th century onwards; also Methodist connexions, from 18th century onwards, including registers after 1837, minutes, accounts, and other papers, though coverage varies throughout the county.
Families and Estates
We have many family and estate collections, both large and small. Some of the principal collections are: Bedford Estates (1258M), Courtenay of Powderham (1508M), Fortescue of Castle Hill (1262M), Acland of Killerton (1148M), Addington of Sidmouth (152M), Rolle of St Giles (96M), Petre of Axminster (123M and 49/26), Mallock of Cockington (48/13) and Iddesleigh of Upton Pyne (51/24). Most are recorded in brief online on the National Register of Archives.
Clubs and Societies
These collections are varied and sometimes small, but some are of considerable interest. They include the records of Women’s Institutes, Round Tables, Young Farmers’ Clubs, Friendly Societies, operatic societies, Devon Gardens Trust, flower clubs, district and county nursing associations, other medical associations, trade unions, other political organisations, hunt clubs, and other sporting clubs.
Businesses
Firms of solicitors make up the majority of this class, but there are a few important deposits relating to manufacturing and retail trades, including Garton and King, F. Parkin and Son Limited (6234 and additional deposits) Bodley Brothers and Company Limited of Exeter (5808), Willey and Company, Exeter (4711), Finch Foundry (7853), Rossiter and Son of Paignton (7451).
Public Records
These include records of courts, hospitals, prisons, and coroners. Because of their sensitivity, public access to some records in these collections is restricted and information is only available through applying to have research carried out by heritage centre staff. .
Dartington Hall Trust Archive at Devon Heritage Centre
In 2010, Dartington Hall Trust began transferring its large archive collection to the Devon Record Office at Sowton. Early in 2012, the archive repository at Dartington Hall was finally closed, and most of the remaining archive material (with the exclusion of Dartington Hall School pupils' individual records) has since been moved to Sowton. It is now housed at the Devon Heritage Centre (the former premises of the Devon Record Office) at Sowton.
Researchers wishing to access material in this collection should first search the Dartington Hall Trust's online catalogue. This was developed by the former archivist at Dartington Hall, and is still the best finding aid to the collections now held at Devon Heritage Centre.
After searching the online catalogue, researchers wishing to visit the heritage centre should read the pages on this website which relate to visiting the Devon Heritage Centre. Those who wish to order copies of documents should read about our enquiry and copy services.
- The following requests should still be made direct to the archives & records administrator at The Dartington Hall Trust, who still works one day a week.
- Copies of images as seen on The Dartington Hall Trust online catalogue with appropriate reference number (Ref. No.)
- Permission to quote from any document, or publish any image or document held in the Dartington Hall Trust Archive
- Former pupils of Dartington Hall School wishing to view their records
Contact details: Yvonne Widger
Archives and Records
The Dartington Hall Trust
Dartington Hall
Totnes TQ9 6EL
tel: 01803-847200
Email: yvonne.widger@dartington.org
Local Studies Collections at Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter
Local studies books and other materials are held in local studies collections at branch libraries all over Devon, but the largest collection is the former Westcountry Studies Library local studies collection, which from 2 October 2012 will come under the care of Devon Heritage Services. The collections are still currently catalogued and identified as Westcountry Studies Library collections [location code WSL] – see Online Catalogues for the various online catalogues and indexes to the local studies collections under the care of Devon Heritage Services.
Some other Devon-based libraries, such as Exmouth, Newton Abbot and Bideford also have considerable local studies collections.
The transfer of the collections formerly housed at the Westcountry Studies Library is a two stage process, and has started with the stock from the main reading room area. From Tuesday 2 October 2012 these reading room books, films and other materials will be housed at the Devon Heritage Centre and will be available there. The remaining local studies stock still held in the closed stack at the former Westcountry Studies Library premises will be transferred to the Heritage Centre in summer 2013, and until then will be available for pre-ordering, on a reservation basis.
Printed books
The book collection of the former Westcountry Studies Library is therefore now part of our Devon Heritage Services collections. The collection includes more than 50,000 volumes relating to all aspects of Devon and the adjoining counties. Our former Devon Record Office searchroom library is being incorporated into the Devon Heritage Services book collection. Books in the Devon Heritage Services collections are available for reference only, and cannot be borrowed - a working selection will be held on the open shelves at Devon Heritage Centre from 2 October 2012, and until summer 2013, others can be pre-ordered from the stacks, to be consulted at the Exeter Central Library.
Research cannot be carried out by Devon Heritage Centre staff on behalf of enquirers, so any requests for research in these books should be referred to a private record agent or researcher. However, a photocopying and digital copying service – subject to copyright rules - will be available through Devon Heritage Services
Microfiche and Microfilm copies
The following archival records for the whole of Devon, Plymouth and Torbay are available on microfiche or microfilm at all three archive repositories in Devon:
- Church of England parish registers which have been filmed. This does not include recently deposited registers
- Pre-1837 nonconformist registers and those post-1837 nonconformist registers which have been filmed
- Bishops' transcripts of parish registers for Devon and Cornwall, pre-1813
- Tithe maps and apportionments
The following additional records for the whole of Devon, Plymouth and Torbay are available on microfiche or microfilm at both the Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter and the North Devon Record Office, Barnstaple:
- Electoral registers, 1832-1900
- Inland Revenue wills series, 1812-1857
- Land tax assessments, 1780-1832
A substantial number of parish records (other than registers) from North Devon parishes are also available on microfiche at both the North Devon Record Office and the Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter. These include churchwardens' accounts, vestry minutes, Overseers of the Poor accounts and charity accounts.
The following records are available on microfilm at the Devon Heritage Centre and at the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office:
- Shipping registers
Microfilm of the Devon newspapers formerly held at the Westcountry Studies Library will be available at the Devon Heritage Centre from 2 October 2012. Other local newspapers are held in local studies collections at some Devon branch libraries. More information about Devon newspaper holdings at Devon Heritage Centre and elsewhere can be found through Online Catalogues.
Digitized collections
There is currently a project underway to digitise the parish registers held at Devon Heritage Centre and North Devon Record Office, and these will also eventually be made available online through the Find My Past website. For information about the progress of this project, please check our project web page regularly.
Many of the parish registers held at Plymouth and West Devon Record Office have been digitised and can be seen online through the Find My Past website. Online coverage includes most of the Church of England baptism and marriage registers which they hold, up to 1912. Later Church of England burial registers, dated after 1912, are online, but the coverage dates of these registers depend on whether they are currently deposited in Plymouth and West Devon Record Office. It is also planned to digitise non-conformist registers and prison registers held at Plymouth and West Devon Record Office.
Free access to the Find My Past website is provided at the Devon Heritage Centre, the two record offices, several family history research centres and a few local libraries in Devon, as well as at similar centres in other counties and overseas - find out more.
Many of the images held in the local studies collections have also been digitized.
Indexes and Lists
An ongoing programme of online listing and indexing of holdings is in progress at both the Devon Heritage Centre and the North Devon Record Office.
Paper copies of lists are also available for use in the search-rooms, together with card indexes of places, subjects and personal names appearing in the lists, although none of these card indexes are being added to any longer.
Copies of the lists have been sent annually to the National Register of Archives (Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts) in London.
An increasing number of our indexes and catalogues are becoming available on-line, through our online catalogues.
Guides to sources and research topics
These will be updated as time allows, to incorporate the changes involved in the integration of Devon Record Office and Westcountry Studies Library collections as part of Devon Heritage Services.
In the meantime, you can find links to guides to some archival sources and historical research topics online on our following webpages:
