The Devon Record Office holds more information relating to public rights of way than the Library Service. Devon Record Office has produced a leaflet Rights of way records: sources in the Devon Record Office, Exeter which gives more detail on many of the sources listed below and conditions for accessing them. Among national websites which may be of use are Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Public rights of way

Ordnance Survey Maps. The fullest publicly available set of these for Devon is held in the Westcountry Studies Library, in many cases on microfiche. For more details on maps see source guide on Maps and plans. The only maps to show public rights of way are the Landranger 1:50,000 maps, which show them in red and the Explorer and Outdoor Leisure 1:25,000 maps, which show them in green. Not all areas of the country are fully covered. The depiction of any other path does not necessarily imply that it is a public right of way. Nevertheless the various editions of 1:2,500 plans and the 1:10,000 (formerly six inch to the mile) series depict many paths and green lanes from the later 19th century to date, which, together with the evidence of other boundaries can give clues to earlier communications networks. The earliest Ordnance Survey maps available are copies of the manuscript surveyors' drawings, which show many trackways and date from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They are held in the Westcountry Studies Library but it is hoped that scanned versions produced by the British Library will be available on the internet in 2003.

The definitive map. The information on public rights of way given on Ordnance Survey maps is derived from the definitive map. The Definitive Map is the record of all public rights of way within the county. The County Council is legally required to keep the Definitive Map of public rights of way under continuous review and to make modifications where it appears that routes should be added, re-graded or deleted. Devon County Council achieves this by carrying out a parish-by-parish review across the county. The Public Rights of Way Section at County Hall also holds parish files of information, which were supplied locally during their first survey. The map, which is plotted on six-inch Ordnance Survey maps, can be inspected in the Public Rights of Way Section and is also available on the internet from the PROW website. See also Countryside Commission A guide to definitive map procedures (1990).

Tithe maps. Devon Record Office holds about 450 tithe maps in original and as microfiches taken from the Public Record Office set. They were compiled between 1836 and 1850 following the Tithe Act of 1836. The Devon Record Office has fuller details about tithe records on its website. The tithe map accompanies a tabulated schedule or apportionment of the property surveyed, often arranged alphabetically by landowner. It is mainly concerned with agricultural land, and land not subject to tithe is often omitted from the map. Roads are sometimes coloured and public roads were not subject to tithes. Where a track is numbered on the map and the number relates to the holdings of a private individual, it does not imply a public right of way. R.J.P.Kain The tithe maps of England and Wales: a cartographical analysis and county by county catalogue (1995) provides a national listing and detailed background information. There is a copy in the Westcountry Studies Library.

Enclosure awards. Devon was not subject to enclosure to the extent of many other areas of the country, but the Devon Record Office holds about 150 awards sanctioned by a private act of Parliament before the General Enclosure Acts of 1836 and 1845. Some of these only cover small areas. The awards may define the status of any track, but the terms used may not be the same as today and it is not always easy to identify which track is being referred to. W.E.Tate A domesday of English enclosure acts and awards (1978) provides a national listing. There is a copy in the Westcountry Studies Library.

Deposited plans. Devon Record Office holds about 1,000 plans relating to public undertakings such as canals, road and railways dating from the 1790s into the 19th century. Only land immediately adjacent to the route is surveyed, and at times the nature of a track crossing the route is given. Many of these plans are very fragile.

Statutes. There are collections of these in both the Westcountry Studies Library and Devon Record Office. The latter has a particularly full set of local acts from about 1816. Many improvements resulted from public, local or private statutes and these frequently contain schedules or they relate to deposited plans. Various indexes of local legislation are available, for more details see the source guide on Official publications.

Estate maps. These often show paths, not normally identified as rights of way. Many are held in the Devon Record Office who have various finding aids. Devon maps and map-makers: manuscript maps before 1840, by M.N.Ravenhill and M.R.Rowe (Devon and Cornwal Record Society, 2002) lists more than 1,500 plans held in more than 30 collections.

Greenwood's one inch to a mile Devon map of 1826 shows trackways and much details supplementing those on the first edition of the one inch Ordnance Survey map for Devon, published in 1809. Both can be seen in the Westcountry Studies Library.

Donn's one inch to a mile Devon map of 1765 is less useful as it only shows major routes. It may occasionally be of use where early routes have fallen out of use or have been diverted.

Finance Act "Domesday Books" 1909-10. These record property assessed for duty under the Finance Act 1909-10. Devon Record Office holds the valuation books, known as "Domesday Books", which indicate under each property any abatements from valuations resulting from rights of way. Unfortunately most of the maps are in the Public Record Office in Kew as are the valuation books which give fuller information. It is hoped that the maps will be scanned. In the meantime, an attempt can be made to correlate the information with the appropriate 2nd edition 1:2,500 Ordnance Survey plan.

Stopping up and diversion orders. These form section 113A in the Quarter Sessions records in the Devon Record Office. There is a listing alphabetically by parish. The contents of each bundle varies, sometimes they even contain the newspaper in which the stopping up or diversion was advertised.

Exeter Flying Post index. Under the heading "Footpaths" there are a number of items indexed in this card index, which covers the period 1763-1885 and is held in the Westcountry Studies Library. Microfilms of that newspaper and other titles are available in the Library. A speculative search of papers may produce additional advertisements if the approximate date is known.

Cutting files. The Westcountry Studies Library holds these for most parishes in Devon. Occasionally a footpath, which formed the subject of controversy, may have resulted in cuttings being made.

County and District Council minutes. These may contain some details, for example the Devon County Council Roads Committee in the 1960s has references, but the approximate date of any action must be known. For an earlier period there are the Quarter Session order books which start in 1592 and continue to 1971. Even though marginal notes often help to locate items, a long and fruitless search will often result. They are held in the Devon Record Office.

Walkers' guides. These cannot be considered legal sources but do give an indication of usage at the time the guide was produced. The Westcountry Studies Library has about 120 such guides published before 1975, but unfortunately the walks are not individually indexed.

Guidebooks. These go back to the early 19th century in the Westcountry Studies Library and may give details of paths but they are only of value in the main tourist areas.

It is often impossible to obtain definite evidence of the nature of tracks and footpaths. It is sometimes a question of using evidence to reach a balance of probability and usage may also be a factor in reaching a decision. Even landscape evidence can be of significance, for example the alignment of a path in the direction of a parish church. Certainly the investigation of footpaths can provide an interesting study of the history of communications and the landscape.