News
Bygone days in Ugborough
Earlier this week we received this charming set of images showing Ugborough in days gone by. They were scanned into our Image Bank by our wonderful team and the originals were returned to the owner. We hope you enjoy them as much as we have. Stay in the loop! ...
Sunday Opening
We are delighted to announce that, from the 20th November until the 18th December inclusive, the Archive will be open on Sundays. So, if you have ever wanted to visit but have not been able to pop-in during our normal opening hours, now is your chance! Our Research...
Come dine with us
From Sunday 20th November 2022 you will be able to enjoy a delicious, freshly cooked Sunday lunch at Shilstone. Served in a beautifully restored former hay barn, the set menu of either one or two courses will be prepared by the in-house team of highly skilled chefs....
Bellarmine Jar Witch-Bottle
Charms against witchcraft - Witch Bottles. With Halloween just around the corner we thought we would share one of the spookier archaeological finds from our excavations at Shilstone House. Witch bottles from the seventeenth and eighteenth century have been found all...
A Chagford mystery?
This wonderful picture was recently shared with us in the hope that we may be able to identify the location and artist. In the corner is written 'Wick Brook, Chagford' but there is no signature or date. Could it be Weeke Brook at Chagford? Or is this a different...
A particularly special donation
This incredible collection of sale particulars has just been donated to the Archive by the family of Charles Head, a Kingsbridge based firm of auctioneers and surveyors that was established in 1902. Over the years the Head family have collected a large number of these...
Be part of the team
It's our volunteers that make the Devon Rural Archive so special. As a volunteer you get frequent access to a wealth of fascinating historical material and to the expertise of our knowledgeable curator. You get to be part of a lovely team of people, with lively...
Sawdye & Harris Collection
Earlier this month the Directors of Sawdye and Harris, Chartered Surveyors, Auctioneers, and Estate Agents, contacted the Archive about taking on their historical records. This long-established business had, over the years, amalgamated a large collection of material...
Capturing a moment in time
Saturday 10th September marks the start of Devon Open Studios where artists from all over the county will open their studios to the public. This annual event inspired us to delve into the archive in search of material on Devon artists and we came across this wonderful...
Stories from the Archive: Sarah Catherine Martin
In the last blog post in our Stories from the Archive series we looked at the origins of the children’s nursery rhyme ‘Old Mother Hubbard’ which was written in Yealmpton by Sarah Catherine Martin in 1805. Sarah Catherine Martin was the sister of Mrs Pollexfen Bastard...
Tickets, priced £7 each. are available from:
www.devongardenstrust.org.uk/events/shillstone
longdownvillage.com/villagehall/how-to-find-us/
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Visitors who have not been here for a while may be unaware of the new and improved roundabout on the A3121 at Kitterford Cross. In addition the road between Mary Cross and Shilstone is currently closed at Shilstone Bridge.
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This illustrated talk, given by Dr. Dianne Long, will explore how the industrial coexisted with, and contributed to, the multi-sensory experience of the garden during the Georgian period.
Tickets cost £7 each and are available in advance from our online shop.https://devonruralarchive.com/product/the-industrial-in-the-garden/
Dr. Dianne Long is a garden historian who has lived in Devon for nearly thirty years. She has published on garden history, and other topics including editing a book on local history. She is past chair of Devon Gardens Trust and its current chair of conservation.
Image: A Prospect of the City of Derby, c.1725, oil on canvas, Derby Museum and Art Gallery, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.
Hurrah!
Here is our evening lecture programme for 2023.
Katherine Raleigh’s son Sir John Gilbert (died 1596) lies in splendour beside his wife Elizabeth Chudleigh in Exeter cathedral . He outlived his mother by only 2 years. Those are the Chudleigh lions. #MonumentsMonday #Exeter
Gathering of spectators and labourers for the start of work on the Burrator Reservoir
1893
#Dartmoor
Test
1/3 In Sandford there’s a wonder, an enchantment, a magic of gorgeous C16 benchends, the wood comes alive with the hedgerow folk, the foliage sprites, the landscape is the church. And there are so many. Some, like these, showing the birthing of these powers…
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Where we are
Devon Rural Archive, Shilstone, Modbury, Devon, PL21 0TW
Call us: 01548 830832
Email us: office@dra.uk.net
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