A tour of the Archive

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of visiting us here at the Devon Rural Archive we thought we would give you a little tour of our beautiful building and its setting, and introduce you to some of the delights that await you when visiting.

The Devon Rural Archive is nestled within the magnificent grounds of Shilstone House just outside the town of Modbury in the South Hams in a purpose built facility. The Archive opened to the public in 2009 and boasts a large library and study area with an event space for talks and conferences as well as exhibitions rooms for visitors to enjoy.

Upstairs in the Archive, within our Research Library, we house historical information about the landscapes, settlements, rural traditions and people within the county of Devon. This takes the form of historic documents, maps, books, journals, periodicals and images. Our curator Abi Gray, along with a team of volunteers are on hand to help direct you to whatever area takes your interest.

We hold regular events at the Archive, and welcome guest speakers as part of our Evening Lecture Programme. These talks are given downstairs in our dedicated lecture space and refreshments are served within one of our galleries.  

Dotted around the Archive we also have small exhibitions and artefacts to pique your interest and to make your visit memorable. 

Come and pay us a visit soon for a very pleasant day researching a local history project, your family history or just for fun. Or why not attend one of our lectures or tours, the details of which are all available on our events page.
A warm welcome awaits you!