News
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...
The Lore of the Dart
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...
Picture Perfect
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...
It’s show time…
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...
Stories from the Archive: Mother Hubbard
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...
Bigbury Tithe Map
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...
Pop-Up Café & Open Gardens
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...
Our New Defibrillator
We are delighted to announce that our new Defibrillator has arrived and is ready to be installed and registered. Being in such a remote location we felt it was essential to have a Defibrillator on site to increase the chances of survival should someone suffer a...
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Guests will explore the history of the site through its surviving archaeology and rare architectural features before seeing the results of the restoration, including the recently completed panelled drawing room.
Tickets are available from
devonruralarchive.com/product/shilstone-house-tour-04-04-2023/
by calling 01548 830832 or email office@dra.uk.net
Please note that Knightstone Manor is not open to the public.
#otterystmary
#donnmap
#explore
#dartmoor #haytor #pinchafordfarm
#farminguk #NFU
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Until 1204 the whole of Devon was a royal forest: an area reserved by the king for hunting. William the Conqueror introduced the concept of forest law in England in the 11th century. Our copy of Benjamin Donn's map of 1765 shows the area marked as being the Forest of Dartmoor.
Eggesford Forest, near Wembworthy in North Devon is home to the very first trees planted by the newly created Forestry Commission in 1919.
Wistman's Wood is one of three remote high-altitude oakwoods on Dartmoor, and, as an outstanding example of native upland oak woodland, was selected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1964.It forms part of the Wistman's Wood National Nature Reserve, was one of the primary reasons for selection of the Dartmoor Special Area of Conservation, and is one of the UKs few temperate rain forests.
Wistman's Wood is one of Britain's largest and richest areas of native woodland, the tree species grow here naturally, rather than having being introduced by people. It is an ancient woodland. Trees have covered this land since they first took root after the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago.
#WistmansWood #dartmoornationalpark #eggesfordforest #forestrycommission #forestryengland #temperaterainforest
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In her talk, Dr. Long, a garden historian, presented illustrated evidence of the beautiful homes and gardens of industrialists having been constructed so that the industrial activities (e.g. ironworks and potteries) were co-located and juxtaposed with those beautiful homes and gardens. Many of the examples given were, as might be expected, from cities in the North of England (e.g. Derby and Leeds), but she also presented two in Devon, including this one in Ivybridge.
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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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