Devon Heritage Centre officially launched today

Devon County Council’s new ‘Heritage Centre’ was officially opened this morning (22nd October) by Council Chairman Jerry Brook. Brook told the impressive number of people attending the launch, "What is here, this combination of all the records is probably one of the most important facilities open in the county today.

 

"I tell my children, if you want to know where you are going, you have to know where you've been, and this centre does just that. And what's most important, it is accessible to everyone."

 

Phil Norrey, Chief Executive of the Devon County Council, also spoke of the importance of the service, and expressed his personal passion for history. With a PhD in 17th century history, which he laughingly admitted to only covering Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall, he commented "The resources here are full of surprises, offering a vividness and freshness of ancient records as if they were happening today."

 

Norrey also said "Now at last we have brought together the greatest wealth of resources, but more than that it is about bringing people together. We are hoping to engage better with the users of this facility in a much more collaborative way.

 

"This is a service we can truly be proud of. In these times of financial constraints, it is important to hold on to such a facility. Some things, once you have lost them you can never get them back."

 

The flagship centre was created as part of a drive to modernise the Council’s heritage service, and sees the Westcountry Studies Library and the Exeter branch of the Devon Record Office conveniently brought together under one roof for the first time.

Located at Great Moor House in Sowton, the facility houses historical resources from a variety of sources which relate to the County of Devon. These include original parish records on individuals, families, estates, businesses, societies, chapels and schools, as well as the County’s collection of local and family history studies material such as maps, newspapers, books and illustrations. The centre also holds the church records of the Diocese of Exeter and records held by the County’s Registrar’s office and the National Meteorological Archive.

The move is the result of last year’s major consultation exercise by the Council to find out how people would like to use their heritage services in the future. The results showed a huge demand for a united service, with 85% of people asked calling for the County’s heritage collections to be brought together.

Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities who has responsibility for the County’s Heritage Services, said: “Drawing together some of our historical services in one place will greatly improve access to the collections we hold.

“By modernising the service in this way we hope to encourage greater community involvement in the heritage work we do by engaging the public in archiving activities and collaborative projects, particularly with specialist interest organisations.

“This new Heritage Centre represents a major step forward for heritage provision in the county and a significant commitment by Devon County Council to the future of the county's written and pictorial heritage.

“We are now focusing on digitising a range of records and increasing access to online resources to help preserve original documents and greatly increase access via the internet.  This is great news as almost 70% of users said they would rather use the internet if more records become available digitally.

“Working closely with volunteers and partners will help us to continue to ensure our archives are effectively catalogued, conserved and stored as efficiently as possible. This partnership will also help deliver a wide range of projects and provide professional support for community heritage activity across the county.”

 

Heritage Centre Manager Tim Wormleighton told Told the Exeter Daily "We have an increasing number of people searching their family history, but we have all sorts of people visiting, including school groups. We have 17 staff members and around 15 volunteers, who have been pivotal in launching this new combined service. We look forward to welcoming lots of people over the coming months, however this is still only phase one."

He added "In return for the help the Friends of Devon's Archives have given us, we would like to offer our support to them by encouraging anyone interested in history to get in touch. They would be delighted to hear from potential new members and forms can be found in the foyer of the Devon Heritage Centre."

Visitors to the Heritage Centre this morning also enjoyed a presentation by the staff and volunteers on the work they do. 

Anyone wishing to contact the Heritage Centre should call 01392 384253.

 

 

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