Archives in focus

There are many hidden treasures in Plymouth and West Devon Record Office. The following pages highlight some of the collections we hold and the secrets that lie within.

Merchant ships registered in the Port of Plymouth

Collections 894, 1904, 2196, 2381, 2602, 2805 and 2907, dating from 1814 to 1987

Details of the ships registered in the Port of Plymouth can be traced through our shipping registers. These registers also contain valuable information on the shipbuilders, owners and the people who crewed them.

These records along with the Queen's Harbourmaster records in collection 581 give an insight into the workings of Plymouth as a major maritime city. The registers are currently being transcribed and indexed by a local researcher. The fruits of his research is now available on a CD-ROM.

For more information on the CD, please see the Plymouth Merchant Ships website. For more information on the shipping records we hold, please see the Plymouth shipping registers page.

Plymouth Architectural Heritage

Collections 1735 and 2961 (PCC/60), Plymouth City Council, Building Control Plans, 1851 to 1945

Deposited in 1970 and 2004, these collections contain all of the surviving building control plans (commonly known as planning applications) for the old Borough of Plymouth and surrounding districts. A growing number of the plans can be viewed on the Plymouth's Architectural Heritage page.

A pasty in Plymouth's Old Audit Book

Volume number 1/130, from the Borough of Plymouth records, dated 1510

"Pasty Wars" proclaimed the Western Morning News on Saturday 11 November 2006, following comments made by Dr Todd Gray, Chairman of the Friends of Devon's Archives about a reference to a pasty in the Old Audit Book for Plymouth from 1510. Dr Gray made his comments at a one day conference to highlight Plymouth's archival heritage and look at proposals for a new Plymouth History Centre. Little did he know what would happen next.

The story made the national newspapers and was picked up by BBC TV's Spotlight news programme on the Monday. By Tuesday, the story had gone global and was put out on international news channels. It also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia.

Our pasty has now become a legend, being discussed across the Internet, appearing in blogs and newsgroups and has even had a poem written in its honour.

Find out more about our pasty on the following websites:

• BBC news
• BBC news (Chinese)
• Sydney Morning Herald
• The Guardian
• The Independent
• Wikipedia
• Devon Life article on Dr Todd Gray

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