The three Devon Record Offices contain the most important genealogy related archives in Devon. The Devon FHS web site at
http://www.devonfhs.org.uk and the Genuki (Genealogy in UK and Ireland) site at
http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/DevonCRO/index.html provide links to the various repositories with maps of their locations.

The Record Offices' official web pages at
http://www.devon.gov.uk/record_office.htm and
http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/archives provide details of opening times, charges, service points, their professional genealogical research service, and a newsletter.

Service points in the county hold microfilm or microfiche copies of local parish registers (containing baptisms, marriages and burials), tithe maps and apportionments (showing land ownership and use in about 1840), non-conformist registers, and some other records for the local area. Microfilm or fiche of other documents can be made available when a member of staff visits. Telephone the appropriate Record Office or Service Point for more information.

The Devon Public Library Local Studies Service has several major reference collections of great relevance to Devon genealogy, about 100,000 items in total, the main collection being at the Westcountry Studies Library in Exeter. You may search the online catalogue which is at www.devon.gov.uk/etched

The North Devon Local Studies Centre in Barnstaple has shared facilities, including front office, with the North Devon Athenaeum, the North Devon Local Studies Library and the North Devon Record Office. The third major centre is at Plymouth where the Local Studies Library also houses the Naval History Library. Libraries such as Exmouth, Bideford, Tiverton and Newton Abbot also have large collections of local material.

EXETER AREA

Devon Record Office Great Moor House Bittern Road Sowton Exeter EX2 7NL.
01392 384253

A professional research service is available.

SERVICE POINTS

Colyton Local History Centre St Andrew's Churchyard, Colyton, Devon.
Administered by the Colyton Parish History Society
01297 552828


Tiverton Museum The Old School, St Andrew Street, Tiverton, Devon.
01884 820517
http://www.tivertonmuseum.org.uk

Torquay Local Studies Library Torquay Central Library, Lymington Road, Torquay, Devon.
01803 208305

Totnes Study Centre Totnes Museum, 70 Fore Street, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5RU.
/ 01803 863821

http://homepages.phonecoop.coop/waltking/studycentre/study_centre.htm

LIBRARIES

West Country Studies Library Castle Street, Exeter, Devon EX4 3PQ
01392 384216

http://www.devon.gov.uk/library/locstudy/wsl.html

Devon and Cornwall Record Society The Society's holdings are housed at the West Country Studies Library. The collection includes the D&CR Society's own publications, parish register transcriptions, files on a large number of individual parishes and families.
http://www.devon.gov.uk/library/locstudy/dcrs.html

Exeter Reference Library Castle Street, Exeter, Devon EX4 3PQ
01392 384206
01392 384208

Railway Studies Collection Newton Library, Market Street, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 2RJ.
01626 206422

FAMILY HISTORY CENTRE

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Exeter Chapel, Wonford Road, Exeter, Devon.
01392 250723
By appointment only.

WILLS

Exeter Probate Office 2nd Floor Exeter Crown & County Courts, Southernhay Gardens, Exeter EX1 1UH.
For post-1858 wills only.
01392 415370.

BARNSTAPLE AREA

North Devon Local Studies Centre 1 Tuly Street, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 1EL
http://www.devon.gov.uk/library/locstudy/barnstap.html The centre holds the combined resources of the North Devon Athenaeum
01271 342174, North Devon Local Studies Library North Devon Record Office 01271 388607/388608

http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/community/the_county/record_office/north_record_office.htm

SERVICE POINTS

North Devon Maritime Museum Odun House, Odun Road, Appledore, Devon.
Holsworthy Museum Manor Offices, Holsworthy, Devon.
01409 259337

PLYMOUTH AREA

Plymouth and West Devon Record Office 3 Clare Place, Coxside, Plymouth, Devon PL4 0JW
http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/archives
01752 305940
01752 223939

SERVICE POINTS

Tavistock Library Plymouth Road, Tavistock, Devon.
http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/community/libraries/yourlocallibrary/west_devon_libraries/tavistock_library.htm
01822 612218.

Holds fiche copies of some of the surrounding parish registers, 1901 census for the local registration district and several computers for on-line access.

Okehampton The Museum of Dartmoor Life, West Street, Okehampton, Devon EX20 1HQ.
the Museum Curator, 01837 52295.
http://www.museumofdartmoorlife.eclipse.co.uk

LIBRARIES

Plymouth Central Reference Library Drake Circus, Plymouth Devon PL4 8AL
01752 305907 01752 305908

http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/yourcouncil/leisure/libraries/localstudieslibrary.htm

Plymouth Local Studies and Naval History Libraries Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AL
01752 305909

http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/yourcouncil/leisure/libraries/localstudieslibrary.htm

FAMILY HISTORY CENTRE

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Plymouth Chapel, Mannamead Road, Plymouth, Devon
01752 668666. By appointment only.

More links may be found on this site at http://www.devonfhs.org.uk/links.htm
Information on specific parishes and other useful information may be found on the Genuki (Genealogy in UK and Ireland) web site
Devon Record Offices
http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/DevonCRO/index.html
 

The vast majority of Devon (and Somerset) wills were destroyed in the Blitz. However, quite a large number of Devon wills are in the Devon County Record Office. Some wills, which have not been indexed, may be found among the 'estate papers' of large land holders.

The main sources are:

Estate Duty Wills 1796-1903 (mostly for the years 1800-1865).
Abstracts are on microfiche at the Devon CRO and indexes are available in the Devon CRO and at Tree House. Death Duty Registers and the Indexes to Death Duty Registers are at the Public Record Office (IR 26 and 27). There are no copies of Estate Duty Wills - abstracts - as opposed to Death Duty Registrations, after 1857.

The Calendar of Devonshire Wills and Administrations (excluding Totnes).
In the absence of the actual will this list (calendar) can be used to find a date of death and area where it took place. Copies of the Calendar are in the Westcountry Studies Library and Tree House. Prior to the loss of Devon wills in the Blitz, abstracts of several hundred wills were made. These are in two distinct series of bound volumes in the Westcountry Studies Library.

The Calendar of Wills and Administrations from Jan 1858.
These Calendars are in the Exeter Probate Sub Registry, 2nd Floor, at Crown & County Courts, Southernhay Gardens, Exeter, EX1 1UH. 01392 415370, with the exception of the years 1964-1967 and also on microfiche at the Devon CRO 1858-1935. The complete calendars are available at the Bodmin and Bristol Probate Registries. Copies of wills and/or grants of administration may be ordered at any probate registry.

Inquisition Post Mortem, 1235-1662.
This printed source can be found in the Westcountry Studies Library. There is no index but details may often be cross-referenced using the Burnett Morris Index, a card index in WSL. The record of Enrolled Deeds from 1535, has a similar genealogical function to that often found in more recent wills in providing details of 'transferred' property. Listed details are in the Devon CRO.

Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills (pre-1857)
These wills were made by testators holding land in Devon and elsewhere in England or proved at the P.C.C. at the testator's or executor's special request. Calendars are in the Reference Department of the Exeter City Library and at the Family Records Centre and the Society of Genealogists, both in London.

British Record Office Probate Lists which also include Commonwealth & Protectorate Wills.
These lists are in the reference section of the Exeter City Library 1383-1857. During part of the Commonwealth period, 1653-1660, all wills, for the whole country, were proved in London, and not in the local ecclesiastical courts.

The London Gazette 1665/6 to date contains notifications of some deaths. An incomplete series of copies from the mid to late 19th century to date is held in the Reference Department of Exeter City Library.