Active Archives

Enter the gallery through an Elizabethan doorway. Find out how the city was destroyed in the Second World War and then rebuilt to a radical new plan. You can even see if your house or street was damaged or destroyed during the war by using the interactive Bomb Book which records the location of every high-explosive bomb dropped on the city.

Explore Plymouth through our large interactive map table, which contains hundreds of historic maps charting the growth of Plymouth and the surrounding area from the 16th to 21st centuries. Get a completely different view of the Royal Naval figureheads, and learn more about their stories.

Don't miss the regularly changing display pods that showcase highlights from the archives throughout the year. They'll focus on Devonport from 19 October-12 January 2025, as part of a wider city programme celebrating 200 years since this fascinating area was renamed from Plymouth Dock.

Your research

The Active Archives gallery provides a range of resources to begin or continue your own research.

Use the interactive map table to select key buildings and localities or as a comprehensive resource to access three key series of Ordnance Survey Maps, including town plans, dating from the 1890s to 1930s.

Delve deeper into aspects of local or family history with the Local Studies collection resources that are housed in this gallery. Use our selection of local directories, reports and newsletters to help reveal the history of your house and local community. The collection is wide-ranging and covers many subjects of local history, such as the expansion of the railway through to histories of individual parishes, buildings and people.

To continue your own exploration you can access further material through the Cottonian Research Room.