This catalogue contains descriptions of documents held at Plymouth Archives, The Box. In some instances an image of a document or photograph will also be available to view.
Our online catalogue is constantly growing and is being added to with newly-deposited and records converted from our paper catalogues. It should be used in conjunction with our catalogues that appeared on the old Access to Archives website which contains the bulk of our material catalogued prior to 2005. These catalogues can now be searched for on the National Archives's Discovery website. Our ultimate aim is to merge the data from both these sources on our own catalogue.
How to search
Search terms
You can undertake a simple search on a single word such as 'school' or on multiple words such as 'Plymstock School' or 'Hoe Grammar School'. The search is not case sensitive.
You can enter any term you like, the most popular being personal names or a property address. Symbols such as £, $, %, and & cannot be used when searching.
Use the following advice to get the most from your searches:
AND/OR/NOT
If you enter more than one word, you will need to click the field containing either AND or OR or NOT depending on how you want to search.
Use AND to search for multiple words, eg a search for 'Plymstock' AND 'school' will locate all entries containing both words.
Use OR to search for similar meaning words, eg a search for 'Reconstruction' OR 'Redevelopment' will locate all entries containing either word.
Use NOT to search for one word and exclude a second word, eg a search for 'school' NOT primary will locate all the school entries but will not show any containing the word primary.
Phrase searches for words next to one another in the catalogue using inverted commas or quotation marks eg "Plymstock School" cannot be undertaken. Please use the AND search.
Tips
When searching for a person, try inputting first name and surname only as middle names are not always included. If this is not successful, try a search by surname only.
When searching for an address, include the house number. If this is not successful, try a second search using only the street name.
What You Will Find
Two main types of entries are shown. These are collection level descriptions or item level descriptions.
Collection level descriptions
This level of description gives details on a number of items which are grouped together as a single collection. The description will either give a summary of the collection or a list of the items contained within each box. If appropriate, details from the collection's administrative history (information on how the records came into existence) are also included. Sometimes items of importance are also highlighted. Occasionally, links from the summary description to the full catalogue on the National Archives's Discovery website are included.
Item level descriptions
This level details information about an individual item. If the item has more than one part, a piece level description is sometimes shown, detailing each part. The item level description offers key data such as the informational content and date of creation of the material in question. It does not contain the full text of the document or volume.