Photocopying
Copying of Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts
Devon Record Office is able to sell copies of microfilm or microfiche of parish registers to individuals for private study and research.
The majority of parish registers have now been microfilmed and are produced in the searchrooms as microfiche or microfilms, but in some case the original registers are still produced, as they have not been filmed, and copies of these cannot be supplied.
At present, requests for copies of microfilms or fiche of parish registers should be made to Devon Record Office at Exeter, and not to North Devon Record Office nor to Plymouth and West Devon Record Office.
However, digital images of Devon parish registers are likely to become available online over the next few years, reducing the need for microfiche copies of parish registers.
In September 2011, scanned images of some registers of baptism, marriage and burial held at Plymouth and West Devon Record Office became available for the first time on the subscription website Find My Past. In the following months, the majority of the remaining parish registers held at Plymouth and West Devon Record Office were added, and the date coverage of the registers online was extended to cover 1538 to 1911.
Registers held at Plymouth and West Devon Record Office include those from parishes surrounding Plymouth, as well as those from all west Devon parishes south of Tavistock, and from the additional parishes of Brentor, Coryton, Dunterton, Lamerton, Lew Trenchard, Lydford, Marystowe, Milton Abbot, Sydenham Damerel, Thrushelton, Cornwood, Ermington, Harford, Holbeton, Ivybridge and Ugborough.
Negotiations are continuing to make parish registers held at the Devon Record Office and the North Devon Record Office available online in the same way in the future.
In the meantime, microfiche of parish registers can be purchased from the Devon Record Office at Exeter. We do not keep a stock of microfiche copies for sale; copies are made from the master films or fiche for each order. The copying process, especially when permission has to be asked, can therefore take some time.
Some of the original registers are in poor condition, and a degree of clarity is always lost in filming. Therefore, although every effort has been made to achieve a legible copy, this has not always been possible, and the legibility of individual registers or fiche cannot be guaranteed. f you are in doubt about this, it will be advisable to ask Record Office staff to look at the fiche before ordering, to avoid disappointment when the copies arrive.
The cost of copies is £2.50 per fiche or £20.00 per roll of film. This is payable to Devon County Council and can be paid in cash or by cheque, postal order, or credit or debit card (Visa, Delta, Mastercard, Eurocard, Switch, and Solo are accepted). If payment is made other than in sterling, a handling charge of £7.00 is added to cover the cost of conversion.
In addition there is a reproduction fee of £5.00 per register payable to the parish. This must be remitted separately by sterling cheque or money order payable to the particular Parochial Church Council. Both payments should be sent to the Devon Record Office, who will pass on the reproduction fee to the parish.
When ordering, please state the parish or parishes, the events (baptisms, marriages, banns, or burials), and the particular registers (if known) or dates that you require. Please note that complete registers will be copied, not parts of them. The Record Office will then tell you what the cost will be and send you an order form to complete and return. When the order and payment have been received, the copying process can go forward. In the majority of cases this can be accomplished in about six weeks from receipt of the order.
Note that when you complete an order form for parish register microfiche, you sign an agreement stating that you are ordering them for your own study and research, and that this does not constitute permission to pass them on to a family history society or library. Requests from societies and corporate bodies are not covered by the agreement referred to above but will be considered individually.
Requests for copies for purposes other than private study and research (publication, for example) will be referred to the parish for permission before copies are supplied. In most cases we will supply you with the details of the incumbent’s name and contact details so that you can make contact and also for permission yourself.
If in doubt as to what constitutes publication or whether permission is required, please ask the Devon Record Office for advice by email: devrec@devon.gov.uk.
Bishops Transcripts
We are also able to sell microfilm copies of Early Bishops Transcripts for most Devon parishes. These generally cover dates from the early 17th century up to 1812. The later Bishops Transcripts, commencing in 1813, are unfilmed.
The Early Bishops Transcripts are available on 16 mm. film.
These records are part of the Exeter Diocesan collection and therefore no additional payment to the parish is required.
The cost is £15.00 per roll of film.
