You may find these links useful when researching local, or more broader, topics. WDHG are, of course, not responsible for the content of any sites referenced below.
An excellent detailed account of history, buildings and conservations of Sharpham House.
The SWHT is the principal source of archives for Devon. It is a useful starting point for research into local history and will guide researchers to useful archives. Those relevant to the South Hams are held mainly at the Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter. The other SWHT record office is the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple.
The DRA is an independent heritage centre located near Modbury for the study of Devon buildings and landscapes. Its website gives a brief account of the records held including documents and images. Research needs to be conducted at the DRA.
The DA is the county's premier organisation for scholarly enquiry into the cultural and scientific aspects of Devon. Founded in 1862 it has eights sections concerning Botany, Buildings, Entomology, Geology, History, Industrial Archaeology, Literature & Art, and Music. It is perhaps best known for the publication of scholarly articles in the annual Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association. The contents of all volumes is available on the site as well as abstracts of articles published since 1999. There is also information on meetings and conferences of the Association. A collection of the Transactions since 1902, and several prior volumes, is available for consultation in the WDHG Archive.
The Totnes Image Bank located at the Town Mill near Morrison's Supermarket has a collection of 60,000 images many of which are of the West Dart area. All have been digitised. A large number came from the former Dartington Image Bank and many were taken by WDHG member Ski Harrison.
A valuable collection of 35 searchable facsimiles of Devon Directories from 1850-1919 including a range of Kelly’s and White’s Directories. They contain details of localities and lists of trades people.
Freeholders books are a valuable source of information. The books were compiled for the purposes of identifying inhabitants of the county who were eligible to serve on juries. Qualification depended upon the value of land holdings and was restricted to men between the ages of 21 and 70.
The site offers reproductions of the the Tithe Maps and Apportionments for all Devon parishes. Viewers with slow download may have difficulty loading a map which are very high resolution. The map appears in the blank space below the wording and can be a very small thumbnail which requires enlargement. Patience may be needed.
A flexible mapping system of Devon based on Ordnance Survey Maps of a range of scales. Chosen areas may be zoomed further to examine fine detail. A set of layers is also available for superimposition for example 'Historic Environment', 'Public Access' &c
The National Library of Scotland offer a range of maps of Great Britain including C19 maps at 1:2535 (25" to 1 mile) and for some urban areas 1:528 (120" to 1 mile). There are also many map series from the C20 and range of specialist maps. Map displays include a slider control that enables the reader to compare the map with a satellite image from Google Earth.
For a list of the OS maps available
readers will be able to use a map which will source a wide range of OS and other maps for a specific area
Britain from Above was a four year project aimed at conserving 95,000 of the oldest and most valuable photographs in the Aerofilms collection, those dating from 1919 to 1953. Readers may consult a map and select an area of interest to find images.
For railway history enthusiasts, it offers a Google Earth based map of Great Britain showing every public and industrial railway and tramway so far identified. The website owner welcomes evidence of any railway discovered by a reader and will add new information to his map. The map can be used with street map or satellite image backgrounds.
This well-known site not only offers detailed satellite images of the whole world but also a facility to look at past images from c 1985 onwards. It also valuable as a way of recording data from personal research such as the location of farms, mines, monastic buildings etc.
The Historic England website enables the user to search for any listed building. Entries include a full account of the features of listed buildings.
WDHG is a member of the BALH (though they currently list us under the old name of Cornworthy and District Local History Society in their Society Directory).
GENUKI is a non-commercial service, maintained by a charitable trust and a group of volunteers. It offers a virtual reference library of information including links, and bibliographies on a wide range of subjects of interest to local historians.