Bideford & District Community Archive

The Bideford Community Archive project started in 1983 under the auspices of a Manpower Services Commission funded scheme. From 1985, it was run by volunteers as a charity – Bideford & District Community Archive Council.

We aim to promote a community identity and inform the public about the history of Bideford and the surrounding area by collecting and preserving documents, maps, books and photographs relevant to the district and conserving physical remains of the past. Village and specific topic information is held, as well as Census material. We support research into family, community and property history using the Archive’s resources and the experience and knowledge of our volunteers.

Our team of 20 regular volunteers assist with research, conservation of resources and production of articles which are added to our web site. We continue the development and maintenance of our website due to the upturn trend in online researching.