About UsWelcome to The Bideford & District Community Archive

Bideford Archives

Introduction

The Bideford Community Archive project started in 1983 under the auspices of a Manpower Services Commission funded scheme. From 1985, it was run by volunteers as a charity – Bideford & District Community Archive Council.

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We aim to promote a community identity and inform the public about the history of Bideford and the surrounding area by collecting and preserving documents, maps, books and photographs relevant to the district and conserving physical remains of the past. Village and specific topic information is held, as well as Census material. We support research into family, community and property history using the Archive's resources and the experience and knowledge of our volunteers.

Our team of 20 regular volunteers assist with research, conservation of resources and production of articles which are added to our web site. We continue the development and maintenance of our website due to the upturn trend in online researching.

 

 

Where Is It & Who Is It For?

Based in offices at Northam Town Council, 1 Windmill Lane, Northam, the Archive rents rooms on three floors which enables access for all members of the public. The addition of two fireproof safes enables the Archive to securely store films and microfiche.

Our visitors’ records identify hundreds of people including family and property historians, students preparing dissertation material, local writers and researchers, and social history groups. The Archive gives presentations to associations and clubs on local interest topics, and volunteers attend fairs and heritage days such as Bideford and Northam Fairs. We use social media and have a website, all of which are updated on a weekly basis.

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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

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