News

Church Guides Donated
New to the Archive Three boxes of church guidebooks and leaflets have just been donated to the Archive, they are great resource for anyone researching their parish church or its monuments and often contain information about the history of the parish too. These will be...

South Devon Snapshots
Large collection of images donated to the Archive. Earlier this year we were approached by a lady looking to find a home for her late father's collection of historic documents, plans, photographs and books relating to South Devon. This impressive Archive of local...

Central Park, Plymouth
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 similar...

New to the Archive
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,...

Coronation Boathouse, Bantham
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 during the Pandemic: Face-to-Face events
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...

Visiting the Archive during the pandemic
Visiting the DRA during the Covid-19 Pandemic - from July 2021 This document explains what our operating procedures mean for those planning to use the Archive for private browsing and independent study during the ongoing pandemic. It also outlines what you will need...

Blackawton in the 1990s
A selection of photographs taken by Dr Jacqueline Sarsby, a social anthropologist and photographer. During the 1990s the pattern of farming in Devon was changing, and many of the traditional farm skills - such as hand-turning butter and making a mangold 'cave' - were...

Shilstone: Yesterday and Today
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...

Shilstone ‘highly commended’ by Historic Houses Restoration Award
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...
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.We have more volunteers than we have been able to feature this week and we would like to say a very big thank you to all of them as without their help it wouldn't be possible to run the Archive as it is today. If you are interested in volunteering with us them we always welcome new faces and would love to hear from you. Please email us at office@dra.uk.net to get in touch.
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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