Staffordshire History Centre Update
Work is ongoing to support supporting the Staffordshire History Centre’s activity plan. Four new staff have recently been recruited to take up projects posts and will be working on learning programmes, community engagement, exhibitions and cataloguing collections. New public programmes have been created, a local history network established, and new volunteers recruited.
The start date for the construction phase of the Staffordshire History Centre Project has been delayed due rising costs of materials and supply issues in the construction industry. The construction costs for the history centre have risen in line with inflation. We have been in further discussion with the National Lottery Heritage Fund and have developed a funding strategy to mitigate the risk of costs increasing further.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities at Staffordshire County Council said: “This is a really exciting time for our service and we’ve been working closely on plans for the new Staffordshire History Centre with our partners for a number of years now.
“The new centre will not only allow us to bring our collections together in a modern building with easy access for the public but will help to preserve them for future generations to enjoy. An exciting programme of activities will also help take our amazing collections and archives out into local communities, allowing people to learn more about our wonderful history.
“With a project of this size and scale, there will always be challenges around plans, costings and budgets. We continue to work with the project team to deliver the project despite the increased costs of construction.”
October 2022 – Joanna Terry, Interim Head of Archives, Heritage, Libraries & Arts
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
SUCCESS ON THE STAGE 2 BID FOR THE STAFFORDSHIRE HISTORY CENTRE
I am really delighted to tell you that we have been successful in gaining the £3.9m for the Staffordshire History Centre from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The project design is almost the same as the 2018 project and will include an extension to the existing Staffordshire Record Office on Eastgate Street in Stafford incorporating the William Salt Library. The Library will be restored and will retell the story of the building as well as William Salt and his collection. A modern glazed link between the Library and the Record Office will create a new entrance and permanent exhibition space to showcase the collections.
In addition to modern reading areas, and research labs the centre will also allow people to discover more about their family or local history by visiting exhibitions, taking part in events and family activities.
What is new is the extra strong room floors which will provide space for a further 55 years of collections and this will mean all of the collections from our out store, including the Lichfield ones, plus the museum paper based collections and photographs will be stored at the History Centre. There will be a new learning offer which will be created for schools with courses for students and adult learners. The centre will be supported by a programme of touring exhibitions and targeted projects to reach all communities across the county.
I wanted to thank you for your engagement with the project for a number of years and I am pleased we will finally be able to make it a reality. The project will start in the autumn and we anticipate the new centre will open late 2023.
www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Heritage-and-archives/Staffordshire-History-Centre
Joanna Terry | Head of Archives & Heritage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STAFFORDSHIRE HERITAGE GROUP DATA PROTECTION POLICY
Staffordshire Heritage Group needs to comply with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation, (GDPR), which came into force on 25th May 2018.
Work is ongoing to support supporting the Staffordshire History Centre’s activity plan. Four new staff have recently been recruited to take up projects posts and will be working on learning programmes, community engagement, exhibitions and cataloguing collections. New public programmes have been created, a local history network established, and new volunteers recruited.
The start date for the construction phase of the Staffordshire History Centre Project has been delayed due rising costs of materials and supply issues in the construction industry. The construction costs for the history centre have risen in line with inflation. We have been in further discussion with the National Lottery Heritage Fund and have developed a funding strategy to mitigate the risk of costs increasing further.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities at Staffordshire County Council said: “This is a really exciting time for our service and we’ve been working closely on plans for the new Staffordshire History Centre with our partners for a number of years now.
“The new centre will not only allow us to bring our collections together in a modern building with easy access for the public but will help to preserve them for future generations to enjoy. An exciting programme of activities will also help take our amazing collections and archives out into local communities, allowing people to learn more about our wonderful history.
“With a project of this size and scale, there will always be challenges around plans, costings and budgets. We continue to work with the project team to deliver the project despite the increased costs of construction.”
October 2022 – Joanna Terry, Interim Head of Archives, Heritage, Libraries & Arts
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
SUCCESS ON THE STAGE 2 BID FOR THE STAFFORDSHIRE HISTORY CENTRE
I am really delighted to tell you that we have been successful in gaining the £3.9m for the Staffordshire History Centre from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The project design is almost the same as the 2018 project and will include an extension to the existing Staffordshire Record Office on Eastgate Street in Stafford incorporating the William Salt Library. The Library will be restored and will retell the story of the building as well as William Salt and his collection. A modern glazed link between the Library and the Record Office will create a new entrance and permanent exhibition space to showcase the collections.
In addition to modern reading areas, and research labs the centre will also allow people to discover more about their family or local history by visiting exhibitions, taking part in events and family activities.
What is new is the extra strong room floors which will provide space for a further 55 years of collections and this will mean all of the collections from our out store, including the Lichfield ones, plus the museum paper based collections and photographs will be stored at the History Centre. There will be a new learning offer which will be created for schools with courses for students and adult learners. The centre will be supported by a programme of touring exhibitions and targeted projects to reach all communities across the county.
I wanted to thank you for your engagement with the project for a number of years and I am pleased we will finally be able to make it a reality. The project will start in the autumn and we anticipate the new centre will open late 2023.
www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Heritage-and-archives/Staffordshire-History-Centre
Joanna Terry | Head of Archives & Heritage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STAFFORDSHIRE HERITAGE GROUP DATA PROTECTION POLICY
Staffordshire Heritage Group needs to comply with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation, (GDPR), which came into force on 25th May 2018.
- We only use your personal information to communicate with you and permit interested parties to contact your group via our web site.
- We do not supply information to any third parties and the only storage of your information is on the personal computers of committee members or web site controller, only for the business of the group
- If you wish to have your details removed from our records simply contact this address and they will be removed immediately.