What Information Do We Hold?
The Archive holds original copies and microfiche of the local newspaper 'The Bideford & North Devon Gazette' from its inception in 1856 and, for over 40 years, volunteers have been compiling a unique newspaper index and filing system which has exceptional value. Some parts of the story are told in great detail; for example, word by word accounts of shipping disasters, murder investigations, accident inquests, festivals and civic celebrations.
We have hundreds of photographs and memorabilia donated by families; Ordnance Survey maps dating back to 1884; Bishops Transcripts for the North Devon area; access to Census material; churchyard plans and memorial inscriptions for St Mary’s at Appledore, St Margaret’s at Northam, East the Water, and Old Town in Bideford; lists of WW1 and WW2 casualties; over 250 recorded conversations with local people; back issues of Bideford Buzz, The Devon Family Historian, and Hartland Times; Northam Rent Valuations; and original planning applications for rural districts, as well as Bideford.
Our inventory (on our website under ‘Document Inventory’) includes documents on local villages and areas of interest such as the Bideford Old Bridge collapse, Edgehill College, shipping, and railways.
Using The Website – our website is based on stories and facts from The Bideford & North Devon Gazette newspapers. The ‘search site articles’ (top right hand corner) will identify articles that have been added to the website by volunteers. The ‘search databases’ tab includes birth, death and marriage announcements published in the newspapers 1856-1978; and ‘search names’ and ‘search newspapers’, based on the index and filing system, are added to on a weekly basis.
We are grateful to Torridge District Council for their financial support towards this website