Exploring the archives
By Brian Carpenter
On the morning of Saturday 25th October, members and associates of the Living Here research group, together with several members of the developing local history society in Alphington, visited the Devon Record Office at Sowton.
Brian Carpenter, an archivist at the office, a Redhills resident and a member of the research group, displayed a range of documents, including the St.Thomas and Alphington tithe maps from the 1840s, some eighteenth century manuscript maps, and school records. The group also saw an account book of the highway surveyors of the parish of St.Thomas which contains a report into a severe bout of flooding in around 1820. This led to the collapse of Cowley Bridge and the inundation of Exwick, something which continued to happen regularly until the Exwick flood relief channel was dug some 150 years later.
Members of the group were also taken on a behind-the-scenes tour, which featured an opportunity to see inside one of the office's seven strongrooms and to view its outstanding conservation facilities.
Hopefully some of the group will return to use the office's research facilities in the future, and Brian will be happy to advise and assist anyone who wishes to do so.
The Community Editor adds: Why don't you visit the Record Office and explore local history through some rare and fascinating archives?