Discovery Saturdays

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Posted on April 4, 2024 by rebeccar

Discovery Saturdays

Discovery Saturdays are arriving at the Devon and Somerset Heritage Centres, providing a new way to access archive services. Starting from April in Somerset and June in Devon we will now offer a full archive service in our public searchrooms, onsite Finds Surgeries, with other exciting events taking place.

Archive and Local Studies Research

Are you new to archival research? Have you hit a brick wall? Or would just like more time to follow that enticing lead? Then come along to the Heritage Centre between 9.00 am and 1.00 pm on one of the Discovery Saturdays where our knowledgeable and experienced staff will be happy to offer advice and support.

If you wish to guarantee your research space a booking can be made, and you can pre-order up to six documents to be ready for you to make a start on your research as soon as you walk through the door. Or you can drop in if you are passing or find yourself at a loose end, without an appointment. Documents can be requested throughout the morning allowing you to follow wherever the research trail takes you. We also provide free access to Ancestry, Find My Past and the British Newspaper Archive if you are looking to start or continue your family history.

Finds Surgeries

The Somerset Finds Liaison Officer will be hosting Finds Surgeries at each Discovery Saturday at the Somerset Heritage Centre and there will also be a Finds Surgery at the first Discovery Saturday at the Devon Heritage Centre in June. Both sites have free parking so if you have found any archaeological objects whilst out walking or metal detecting and would like them to be recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme then bring them along for identification. Finds will be borrowed for up to four months. These sessions will need to be booked:

Book a Finds Surgery in Devon

Book a Finds Surgery in Somerset

Discovery Events

Each Discovery Saturday will also feature a discovery event, which may be a behind the scenes tour, a conservation workshop, an exhibition of some of our exciting collections, or a talks on one of our many projects. Keep an eye on our events page or join our mailing list to see what is going on.