There are three local archives covering the historic county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, England. The Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter is the main

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

. It has a branch office, the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple (established in 1988), which is the repository for records broadly relating to North Devon. Since 2014 the joint service has been run by the South West Heritage Trust under the name of the Devon Archives and Local Studies Service. In addition, there is The Box in Plymouth, a new museum, art gallery and archive for the South West which opened in September 2020. Alongside local archives from the former Plymouth and West Devon Record Office, The Box holds materials from the former South West Film & Television Archive, South West Image Bank and Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery.

Devon Heritage Centre

The Devon Heritage Centre (DHC) is the successor to the Devon Record Office (DRO) that was established by Devon County Council in 1952. The DRO incorporated the Exeter City Record Office that had collected Devon's records since 1946, when it took over from the Exeter City Library, which had collected documents since the early 20th century. In 2005 the DRO moved into a specially-constructed building at Great Moor House, Sowton Business Park, Exeter. A restructuring of services led to the creation of the Devon Heritage Service in November 2011 with the aim of integrating the collections of the DRO and the Westcountry Studies Library, and from autumn 2012 the Westcountry Studies Library that had been housed in Exeter city centre, moved into Great Moor House which was renamed the Devon Heritage Centre. On 1 November 2014 Devon Heritage Services was transferred from the County Council to the management of the South West Heritage Trust (an independent charity, which also runs

Somerset Archives and Local Studies The Somerset Archives and Local Studies holds the archives for the county of Somerset, England. The archives are held at Brunel Way, Langford Mead, Norton Fitzwarren, Taunton, and run by Somerset County Council. The records held include oral his ...

), and was rebranded as the Devon Archives and Local Studies Service. Among the holdings of the DHC are the complete records of the Devon

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

courts from 1592 until their abolition in 1971; this is the earliest uninterrupted series of such records in the country. Other holdings include the records of the city of Exeter from c.1100; the records of the

Diocese of Exeter The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Provinc ...

(which included Cornwall until 1875) from the 13th century; Anglican church records for the whole of Devon from the 16th century; and the records of many of the major Devon families. Also housed at the DHC is the National Meteorological Archive which includes daily weather reports for the United Kingdom from 1869 and many earlier documents.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.swheritage.org.uk/#!devon-archives/t239u History of Devon Organisations based in Devon Organizations established in the 1950s Education in Devon Exeter Plymouth, Devon County record offices in England

Devon Heritage Centre

See also

References

External links