News

A park for recreation. The Archive recently received a c.1928 plan for Central Park in Plymouth. At first glance, the item looks like a history book, but when fully opened you discover a A1, linen-backed plan for the city's proposed recreation area. The plan is...

Early 20th century farm sale details. Nearly 1000 items have been added to our collection since summer began, and we are extremely grateful to all those who have donated this material. The newest additions include local history publications, newspaper cuttings,...

A 'striking' structure on the River Avon.  In August, six seaside heritage sites were granted listed status by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England. One of the sites, listed Grade II, was Coronation Boathouse at...

Visiting the DRA during the Covid-19 Pandemic: what to expect at face-to-face events If you are planning to attend a face-to-face event in the Archive, the following information will provide details of how we will be minimising risks and making our venue Covid-19...

Pictures of Then and Now. During the early 19th century the Savery family, who had owned Shilstone since 1614, started to make some big changes to the site. They demolished the existing medieval house, built a new courtyard mansion in its place, and improved the farm...

What do Shilstone House and Blenheim Palace have in common? They have both been highly commended by the Historic Houses Restoration Award for 2020. After a delay of more than six months while judges were unable to assess entries because of Covid-19 restrictions, the...

Rural life 100 years ago. Some of our volunteers are currently researching rural life in Devon during the 1920s, and are looking particularly at the changes that took place on local farms in the decade after the first world war. To this end we will be using items from...

Sandwell Manor, Harberton. Benjamin Donn’s 1765 survey of Devon, produced at a scale of an inch to a mile, was the first large-scale map of any British county. Alongside towns, villages and farms, Donn marked the location of 656 “gentry seats” and thus provides us...