Holdings available
Until recent times, the Cathedral formed a self-governing unit separate from the Diocese of Exeter, administering its own property and finances. Documents in the Cathedral Archives cover more than a thousand years, some predating the foundation in 1050 of the Cathedral itself.
From Anglo Saxon times onwards, the Dean and Chapter acquired estates throughout Devon and Cornwall, with some holdings in Dorset, Somerset and Oxfordshire. Until re-organisation in the 1860s, these estates provided the income for building and maintaining the cathedral, supporting the clergy, choir, workmen and staff.
A computerized database has recently been started, but will not be available on the internet for some time. Although some information has been published by the National Register of Archives, lists of most of the documents and manual indexes of place and subject can only be consulted in the Cathedral Archives.
The records are arranged in the following broad categories:
- Chapter Act books, recording the business discussed at Chapter meetings late 14th century - present day
- Fabric Accounts, including weekly expenditure on the construction of the Cathedral 1279 - 1514 and maintenance and restoration from the 17th century to the present day
- Estate records 10th -19th centuries including title deeds, manorial records, maps and surveys, accounts and correspondence
- Accounts of income and expenditure, including payments to clergy, musicians, cathedral staff and suppliers, education of choristers, purchase of goods and repairs to Chapter owned buildings 14th - 20th centuries
- Registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials conducted within the Cathedral itself from 1593 onwards (see note below about other registers)
- Music part-books used by the choir, services lists and programmes of events 19th century onwards
- Photographs and illustrations 19th century onwards
- Chapter clerks' correspondence 17th century to present day
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