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21-672: There are three local archives covering the historic county of Devon , England. The Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter is the main archive . It has a branch office, the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple (established in 1988), which is the repository for records broadly relating to North Devon. Since 2014 the joint service has been run by the South West Heritage Trust under the name of

42-481: A formal association with one or more of their county’s principal local studies libraries, although the two professions of archivist and librarian generally remain quite distinct. Public access to central government archives (technically known as public records ) and by extension to local government records was previously regulated in accordance with instruments such as the Public Records Act 1958 and

63-465: Is provided by Janet Foster and Julia Sheppard’s British Archives (4th edition, 2002). Select lists for certain specialised categories covering many UK repositories have also been issued by a variety of other publishers, notably the Federation of Family History Societies . George Herbert Fowler George Herbert Fowler CBE (4 September 1861, Lincoln – 15 August 1940, Aspley Guise )

84-727: Is the successor to the Devon Record Office (DRO) that was established by Devon County Council in 1952. The DRO incorporated the Exeter City Record Office that had collected Devon's records since 1946, when it took over from the Exeter City Library, which had collected documents since the early 20th century. In 2005 the DRO moved into a specially-constructed building at Great Moor House, Sowton Business Park, Exeter. A restructuring of services led to

105-741: The Challenger Society for Marine Science in 1903. Fowler retired from UCL in 1909. In retirement Fowler lived at Aspley Guise , Bedfordshire , and his interests turned to local history. He established the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society in 1912 and the Bedfordshire Record Office in 1913, continuing to serve as chairman of the county records committee until 1940. During World War I he worked in hydrographic and naval intelligence, preparing charts for use by submarines. He

126-808: The Public Records Act 1967 . The 1958 Act enabled county repositories to be appointed by the Lord Chancellor to hold individually specified classes of Public Records – including local court records. Access to material within record offices in England & Wales is now largely regulated by the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 , although these do not necessarily cover privately deposited items, and closure periods may apply in certain cases. Since 1929 many county record offices in England have also been designated by

147-688: The Devon Archives and Local Studies Service. In addition, there is The Box in Plymouth , a new museum, art gallery and archive for the South West which opened in September 2020. Alongside local archives from the former Plymouth and West Devon Record Office , The Box holds materials from the former South West Film & Television Archive , South West Image Bank and Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery . The Devon Heritage Centre (DHC)

168-459: The addition of new materials can make these go rapidly out of date. Furthermore, many offices also have considerable backlogs of uncatalogued materials. From the 1990s onwards, an increasing number of offices have launched online catalogues of varying completeness, linked to their respective websites. An earlier summary of archive repositories, including brief details of the development of each office together with outlines of their principal holdings,

189-810: The creation of the Devon Heritage Service in November 2011 with the aim of integrating the collections of the DRO and the Westcountry Studies Library, and from autumn 2012 the Westcountry Studies Library that had been housed in Exeter city centre, moved into Great Moor House which was renamed the Devon Heritage Centre. On 1 November 2014 Devon Heritage Services was transferred from the County Council to

210-546: The foundations of many of the earlier collections were the extensive surviving archives originating from a county's quarter sessions – in the county of Somerset a special muniment room had actually been provided for these as early as 1617. There are also many broadly similar repositories in Scotland, Ireland, and overseas. To varying extents, they will also help with the care of the county's semi-current or "modern records" using records management principles, as well as with

231-641: The historic and the semi-current records of the parent body. They usually also preserve written materials from a great variety of independent local organisations, churches and schools, prominent families and their estates, businesses, solicitors' offices and ordinary private individuals. Archives may have been acquired either through donation or (more generally) by deposit on long-term loan. Local authorities in certain larger cities sometimes administer their own separate city record office , operating along similar lines. Archive repositories are frequently – but by no means exclusively – used by local and family historians for

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252-858: The local bishop as a diocesan record office , latterly operating under the terms of the Parochial Registers and Records Measure 1978 . Such record offices are often also formally recognised by the Master of the Rolls as approved repositories for manorial and tithe records (in accordance with the Law of Property Act 1922 and the Tithe Act 1936 (as amended by the Local Government Records Act 1962 ). Many county record offices have issued printed guides to their collections, although

273-632: The management of the South West Heritage Trust (an independent charity, which also runs Somerset Archives and Local Studies ), and was rebranded as the Devon Archives and Local Studies Service. Among the holdings of the DHC are the complete records of the Devon Quarter Sessions courts from 1592 until their abolition in 1971; this is the earliest uninterrupted series of such records in the country. Other holdings include

294-570: The modern sense was the Bedfordshire Record Office , established by George Herbert Fowler in 1913. To some extent it was operating within established traditions set by the London-based Public Record Office (now The National Archives ), which first opened in 1838, or by other repositories overseas. Although the statutory operation of such county record offices under the Local Government (Records) Act 1962

315-399: The purposes of original research, since many records can very often have a continuing administrative or legal significance. A record office will typically include public search rooms (including reference books, archive catalogues and other finding aids), environmentally controlled strongrooms, administrative offices, and quite often small exhibition areas together with a conservation room for

336-735: The records of the city of Exeter from c.1100; the records of the Diocese of Exeter (which included Cornwall until 1875) from the 13th century; Anglican church records for the whole of Devon from the 16th century; and the records of many of the major Devon families. Also housed at the DHC is the National Meteorological Archive which includes daily weather reports for the United Kingdom from 1869 and many earlier documents. County record office Such repositories employ specialist staff to administer and conserve

357-582: The selection and preservation of today's records (both paper and digital) for future generations. During the 19th and 20th centuries, some older libraries had also begun to maintain archive collections from their local area, although their facilities and the scope of their collections could vary considerably – as might their official legal status. There are often overlaps between local studies and record office collections, particularly with respect to printed ephemera , maps, photographs, old newspapers and local reference books. A number of record offices now operate in

378-425: The specialist repair of documents. Search rooms are generally open at their advertised times without charge, although many offices operate a reader's ticket system. Some, but not all, operate a fee-paying postal service for those who are unable to make personal research visits. All county record offices attempt to work in accordance with the appropriate official British Standard . The earliest county record office in

399-522: Was an English zoologist, historian and archivist. Fowler was educated at Marlborough College , Eton College and Keble College, Oxford . From 1887 to 1889 he was assistant to E. Ray Lankester at University College, London . In 1890 he was interim director of the recently founded Plymouth laboratory of the Marine Biological Association . In 1891 he returned to teaching zoology at UCL. Fowler and R. Norris Wolfenden founded

420-800: Was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1918 New Year Honours for his efforts during the First World War. In 1923 he published The Care of County Muniments , which remained for many years the only manual in English relating to the care of local archives. He was also active in the establishment of the British Records Association in 1932. [REDACTED] Media related to George Herbert Fowler at Wikimedia Commons This article about

441-415: Was permissive rather than mandatory, the network has gradually expanded. Bristol Record Office (now Bristol Archives ), opened in 1924, has been identified as the second local office to become established. The whole network now includes repositories – which operate largely independently of each other – throughout the whole of England and Wales (the most recent being Powys Archives, opened in the 1980s). Often

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