News

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...

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...

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...

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...

In a recent episode of ‘Sketches: A story of Art and People’ on Radio 4 (July 18th – On Dartmoor – available on BBC Sounds), the presenter Anna Freeman took a walk on the edges of Dartmoor with writer Tom Cox. During their discussion about the influence of Dartmoor on...

Sandwell Manor, Harberton - Revisited. In February 2021 our blog reflected on the research of our Curator, Abigail Gray, into the history of Sandwell Manor in Harberton which she had surveyed as part of Project Donn. This Grade II listed country house is of late...

What a fantastic day we've had at the 133rd Yealmpton Show!  As always we were in the Yealmpton History tent showcasing the work that we do at the Archive and sharing some of our collection with visitors. This year we took a selection of historic maps of the local...

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard...  If you ever driven through the village of Yealmpton in the South Hams you will have noticed Old Mother Hubbard’s cottage. Squat along the road with an undulating thatched roof, thick stone walls and tiny cottage windows it...

This copy of the Bigbury Tithe map from 1843 was recently donated to the Archive for safe keeping along with a transcript of the apportionment that was written in 1930.  The National Archives explains: "Tithes were originally a tax which required one tenth of all...

Introducing Polly Ann's There are exciting times ahead for the Archive as work is now underway to create our very own café for visitors to enjoy. In the meantime however, we are delighted to welcome Polly Ann's mobile country kitchen to our courtyard for some pop-up...