Hutchinson's Diaries
The Hutchinson diary scans (1846-1894)
Peter Orlando Hutchinson’s (POH) diaries (1846-1894) have for many years resided in the Devon Record Office (DRO) strong rooms, occasionally consulted by researchers and writers. Jack Hillman, a DRO volunteer, has made digital images of the entire diaries, running to well over 2000 pages, as a shared resource for the DRO and the East Devon AONB Peter Orlando Hutchinson project. A number of people have asked that the diary scans should be available as an on-line resource and we are pleased to be able to facilitate this. The scans are accompanied by a transcribed, searchable, version of the diaries – the work of 13 POH project volunteers.
Much of the archaeological and topographical content of the diaries already exists in print in the two excellent volumes edited by Jeremy Butler. However, other elements, such as landscape, agricultural and economic information, family histories, political comment etc. do not always feature in the edited version, neither do all Hutchinson’s humorous and other asides on his life and times, all of which you can now discover for yourselves. Sections of the diaries may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes provided permission is sought and the sections are credited to the Devon Record Office and the POH project.
POH diary transcripts (1846-1894)
The transcriptions are a searchable document, unlike the original scans, and are of course easier to read than the original, but you may wish to navigate between the original and the transcript as you will only find the illustrations in the original scans.
We would like to thank the following transcribers for their diligent work: Marjorie-Anne Howe; Sue Dymond; Colin, Helen and Jan Smith; Brian Turnbull; Kay White; Sue Hunter; John Rees; Ron Woodcock; John Griffith; Ffiona Eaves; Jill Cobley and Sandra Alkordi.
Martin’s tip for searching the transcripts
“The trick is to search the POH web page as a whole for whatever it is you are looking for.You are then presented with a list of transcriptions and a percentage of how likely they are to contain your search item. If you then open the transcription and do a further search for the same item (Edit, Find on this Page or Control F) your search item is then highlighted for you. I also get a message telling me how many matches there are on the page.”
POH Transcripts - 1867 (Jan - Sep)
POH Transcripts - 1868 (Jan - Jun, Nov)
