{"id":91,"date":"2018-06-27T15:14:37","date_gmt":"2018-06-27T14:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devon-archives.swht.wpengine.com\/?page_id=91"},"modified":"2024-04-03T09:33:08","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T08:33:08","slug":"local-studies-library","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/services\/local-studies-library\/","title":{"rendered":"West Country Studies Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

The West Country Studies Library holds published works relating to all aspects of Devon life and on the wider west country, including books, pamphlets, maps, journal articles and illustrations.<\/p>\n

In this section find out how you can access this incredible collection, and information about the resources.<\/p>\n

About Devon Local Studies<\/h2>\n

The West Country Studies Library was opened on 22\u00a0October 1975. \u00a0It was created from the local studies collection of the old Exeter City Library which had been held in the Exeter City Reference Library, and was supplemented from the collection of local studies material held at the Devon County Library, Barley House. \u00a0Most of the latter collection was eventually\u00a0used to form the core book stock of Barnstaple Local Studies Library. \u00a0The West Country Studies Library joined with the Devon Record Office in 2012 to become Devon Archives and Local Studies. \u00a0The collection includes more than 45,000 published works relating to the history, people and places of Devon, and over 27,000 illustrations of the county, along with a collection of newspapers, maps and ephemera. \u00a0Since 2014 the West Country Studies Library has been located at the\u00a0Devon Heritage Centre.<\/p>\n

Accessing the Library<\/h2>\n

In Person<\/h3>\n

Some of the local studies collections at\u00a0the Devon Heritage Centre are\u00a0on open access shelves in the searchroom. \u00a0The items which are held in the strongrooms may be ordered either in advance or on the day. \u00a0There are no access restrictions to items in the library. \u00a0Please see our\u00a0Planning a Visit<\/a>\u00a0page for more information.<\/p>\n

Remote Enquiries<\/h3>\n

We may be able to answer an enquiry by telephone, letter or email, though longer enquires should be directed to the\u00a0Research Service.<\/a><\/p>\n

Devon and Somerset Local Studies Catalogue<\/h4>

Explore books, pamphlets, maps, journal articles and illustrations<\/p>\"LocalExplore Local Studies<\/a><\/div>\n

Local Studies Resources<\/h2>\n

Books<\/h3>\n

The West Country Studies Library contains published works relating to all aspects of Devon life. \u00a0The books are arranged on the open searchroom shelves by Dewey number and include a topographical collection by county and place. \u00a0There is also a substantial collection of books held in the strongrooms.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe searchroom library shelves are self-service and books may be freely used by researchers during their visit. \u00a0The collection is for reference use only and may not be borrowed. \u00a0Please ask staff if you cannot find what you are looking for.<\/p>\n

Newspapers<\/h3>\n

The Devon Heritage Centre has a local newspaper coverage for every year from 1737 to 2012. \u00a0Newspapers are held on microfilm and are available for access in the searchroom, and can be viewed and printed using a microfilm reader. \u00a0Some newspapers are held in hard copy in the strongrooms. \u00a0If the newspaper you require is not held on microfilm, ask staff at the searchroom desk for availability. \u00a0An index to Trewman’s Exeter Flying Post (1763 – 1885) is available on index cards.<\/p>\n

Parish Cutting Files<\/h3>\n

There are parish cuttings files for most of the parishes in Devon. \u00a0They are mostly made up of newspaper cuttings from the Express and Echo, and Western Morning News newspapers, but often contain other material, including entries from the county histories Lyson and Polwhele, donated research and illustrations.<\/p>\n

Searchroom Shelves<\/h3>\n

The open searchroom shelves contain useful guides and aids to research, with the following resources:<\/p>\n

\u200bCounty and Town Trade Directories:\u00a0These list the cities, towns, villages and hamlets of the county with a brief description of the area, including noble families, agriculture, charities and churches. \u00a0County directories are available from 1823 to 1939, but a complete coverage of all parishes is not available until White’s directory for 1850. \u00a0For some of the larger towns, eg. Exeter, there are directories after 1939.<\/p>\n

\u200bWills transcriptions by Moger and Murry: These are arranged\u00a0alphabetically by surname, and were compiled before WWII, when the probate office was destroyed. These are held along with indexes to wills (although the wills mentioned may not have survived the Blitz).<\/p>\n

\u200bHow-To Guides:\u00a0Researching family, house and local history will always bring to light problems that cannot be solved easily. These guides deal with specific issues, including how to read different types of record, how to research an ancestor, or how to use specific types of resources.<\/p>\n

Illustrations and Photographs<\/h3>\n

A collection of over 27,000 prints, drawing and photographs can be accessed online through the\u00a0Local Studies Catalogue.<\/a><\/p>\n

These include a collection of topographical prints dating from between 1660 and 1870, compiled by Somers\u00a0Cocks, and drawings and paintings of the county of Devon. \u00a0These illustrations\u00a0were digitised as part of a project called Etched on Devon’s Memory.<\/a><\/p>\n

A large collection of photographs is available from the Express and Echo newspaper, which we are in the process of cataloguing and making available online.\u00a0 We also hold some illustrations of Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset.<\/p>\n

Periodicals<\/h3>\n

The following periodicals are available on open access in the searchroom:<\/p>\n

\u200b- Transactions of the Devonshire Association<\/p>\n

– Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries<\/p>\n

– Devon Historian<\/p>\n

– Devon Family Historian<\/p>\n

– Devon and Cornwall Record Society Publications<\/p>\n

– Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society<\/p>\n

\u200bThere are also a large number of periodicals available which can be ordered from the strongrooms, including parish magazines, community magazines, and county magazines.<\/p>\n

Library of the Devon and Cornwall Record Society<\/h3>\n

The library of the Devon and Cornwall Record Society is held on open access in the searchroom. \u00a0It contains a collection of transcribed parish registers for Devon and Cornwall, along with marriage indexes for both counties. \u00a0It also contains a collection of books donated to and published by the Society. \u00a0There is also a collection of family and parish files which are not kept on open access, but which can be requested from\u00a0staff at the searchroom desk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction The West Country Studies Library holds published works relating to all aspects of Devon life and on the wider west country, including books, pamphlets, maps, journal articles and illustrations. In this section find out how you can access this incredible collection, and information about the resources. About Devon Local Studies The West Country Studies… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":155,"parent":13,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"1","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-91","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/91","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/91\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1247,"href":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/91\/revisions\/1247"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swheritage.org.uk\/devon-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}