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Local Studies

Investigating the history of your house?
Tracing your family tree?
Following the progress of a planned development?
Wondering who built Oldway Mansion?
Researching the Marine Spa?
Looking for an old Ordnance Survey map?

Torbay Library Services can help you. The main collection of Local Studies materials is held at Torquay Central library. The branch libraries at Brixham, Churston and Paignton have local studies collections covering general topics about Devon and works specific to the locality.

The service is available to everybody. The majority of the resources may not be borrowed and, therefore, you do not have to be a library member to use them.

Here is a list of the Services we can offer:

Local Studies index to newspapers
Census information
Family History and House History
People & Places

Local Studies Index to Newspapers

This service provides an index to articles in local newspapers. The newspapers are mainly the Herald Express and Western Morning News; however, where articles have been traced in other newspapers e.g. The Brixham News, Mid Devon Advertiser and Totnes Times, these too have been indexed. References to articles in various magazines containing information relevant to the local area are also included. ( Please note the actual articles are not displayed, but may be held in the Reference Library's resources as hard copy or microfilm.)

The database has both current and historical content and roughly covers the geographical area of Torbay, but with some material on the South Devon area. The original index is based on a card file and is gradually being transferred to the database, however, a percentage of the index is still only available in card format available from Torquay Reference Library, therefore please contact us if you do not find what you are looking for.

Census Information

The 1901 Census
Part of the 1901 census is available on microfiche at Torquay Reference Library. The enumeration districts of Totnes, Newton Abbot and Kingsbridge are covered, which include Torbay, parts of the South Hams, and Teignbridge.

The census is also available online and access to the Internet is available from all Torbay Libraries. The index, which arranged by name, place, address, institution or vessel, is free. This index links to images of the original census returns and transcriptions of the details for individuals. There is a charge for these features. One of the payment methods is by voucher, and these are available for purchase at all libraries.

Family History and House History

If your relatives came from Torbay or South Devon, the local studies section stocks various resources to help you:

Census Returns
It is necessary to have traced back to 1901 so that you can use the latest census available.

For historical reasons, Torbay’s holdings of Census Enumerator’s returns are rather uneven. It is correct to say that the whole of Torbay is covered for the period 1841-1901; for most years the parishes within a five-mile radius of Torbay are also kept. For places further afield the coverage varies quite widely.

Earlier records prior to 1837
The International Genealogical Index on microfiche, complied by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, covers the United Kingdom. It is arranged by name within county. The records shows births, christenings and marriages.

Parish Registers
A number of records are held on microfiche. The material includes parish and non-parochial registers. The area covered includes Torbay and the adjacent area extending as far as Newton Abbot, Kingswear, Dartmouth and Combeinteignhead. Within this span the coverage is wide but not complete: The fiche are on deposit from the Devon Record Office.

Death Notices Index
At present this is only complete for our holdings of the Torquay Times, although there is some coverage of other local newspapers and work is continuing; the index also covers a small, but growing, number of obituaries. The arrangement is alphabetical by surname.

Genealogical Research
Regrettably, Torbay Library Services is unable to undertake genealogical research on enquirers' behalf. The services of a genealogist willing to undertake research at cost may be secured through the Devon Record Office.

House History
If you are interested in tracing the history of your house, the local studies library has the following resources:

Newspaper and directories – which contain alphabetical listings by street.
Houses database for Torquay arranged by name of property and/or street. This is a relatively new index and does not claim to include the whole of Torquay.

People and Places

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is an illustrated collection of 50,000 specially written biographies of the men and women who shaped all aspects of Britain's past, from the fourth century BC to the year 2000. None of the people included in the original dictionary have been dropped: each person included in the DNB also has an entry in the Oxford DNB. However, all of the original articles have been either completely rewritten or revised. Over 70 per cent of the DNB's articles have been rewritten and the remainder revised.

You can see the complete Oxford Dictionary of National Biography in Torquay Library or use the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online from any Torbay library. If you are outside a library you will need to type in your library card number without the spaces.

Of local interest

Are you interested in local people who have achieved fame, or in local buildings that are known far and wide? Then why not have a look at the pamphlets within our Local Studies Education Series. These have been prepared by library staff and are intended to be of interest to both students and the casual browser.

Local Studies

Local Studies Index to Newspapers

Census Information

Family History and House History

People and Places

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