An online journal for the North Devon Athenaeum
As part of International Archives Week we are taking a look at some of the posts we’ve written about the document and archive collections in our care and the work we do. Today we’re taking a look at some of the posts we’ve written about our collections. 1. The North Devon Journal Archive One of …
As today marks the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day we take a look at some of the resources we hold within our collections. Throughout the course of the war, the Athenaeum did its bit. The railings were taken to be melted down and used in industry, there was a fire watch station on …
Continue reading "Discover VE Day and World War II…On Our Shelves!"
When the Armistice was signed 100 years ago today, many took to the streets in celebration. This article was written by one of the North Devon Herald's journalists and describes the scenes in Barnstaple on that memorable day. "PEACE HAS BROKEN OUT!"I was in the midst of a shorthand transcript in the reporters' sanctum of …
Yesterday we celebrated 5 years of Tales From the Archives by counting down our Five most read posts. Today we thought we would bring you 5 posts you may have missed over the years... 5. Discover the Effects of Beeching's Axe...On Our Shelves! Part of our Discover...On Our Shelves series, this post was written by …
The largest collection we hold by far is the archive of the local newspaper the North Devon Journal. We hold some 133 volumes of the original newspapers which cover over 120 years of news and events in the North Devon area. The Journal was first published in July 1824 and we hold the first full …
Monday was the big day for the shelving project as the installers arrived with the new shelving early in the morning. By mid morning one side was completed and the other under way and looking very smart and by lunchtime it was all done! All that was left for us to do was to clean …
Continue reading "Behind the Scenes…Shelving Project part two"
If you've been following us on social media you will have seen that we are closed to the public for a fortnight while we carry out some essential work in our stack. For the last 29 years, our North Devon Journal newspapers have sat on the shelving unit which was built for us before we …
First published in 1824 the North Devon Journal covers the general North Devon area. Established by John Avery, a bookseller who was a prominent liberal and Methodist in Barnstaple it had a mixture of local news and items taken from the national papers of the time. Spread over 4 pages each containing 7 columns, part …
Continue reading "A Brief History of the North Devon Journal"
With a new year come new challenges and changes for the North Devon Athenaeum. Last year the way we work with the North Devon Record Office changed as did the public area we share with them. This year will hopefully see some exciting changes behind the scenes. We will be closed in early February to …
Fred and Reg Priscott, twin brothers, served with the 1st 6th Devons in both India and Mesopotamia during the First World War. Born 18th October 1895, in Barnstaple, they were the Regiments only serving twins. Before the war both Frederick John and Reginald James Priscott were working for local furniture maker Shapland and Petter and …
Tales From the Archives 