History building on history due to new cultural pulls reveals more about the country’s past

Published on Friday, November 1, 2024

Mithra Tonking, Staffordshire County Council Archives and Heritage Officer Jo Terry, Julian Glover and Major Victoria Wilson

The new heritage center will unlock more than 1,000 years of Staffordshire’s history when it opens to the public on November 6.

The new £8.7 million Staffordshire History Center project was delivered by Staffordshire County Council and funded by a grant of £4,858,699 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Located on Eastgate Street in Stafford, the new center includes modern research and learning rooms, strong rooms that can hold up to 50 years of archives and a bright exhibition space for exhibitions and temporary exhibitions.

Small sherds of Anglo-Saxon pottery were discovered during foundation work on the new vault. This pottery dates back almost 1,500 years and no Anglo-Saxon finds of this date have previously been found at Stafford. They may be small in scale, but these potsherds provide clues as to where settlement in the town was concentrated before the construction of the defensive bastion in 913 AD.

The new center will be open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00 and will be free to visit. Pop-up events will celebrate the opening month with more events planned for next year. A new website will be opened during the opening week and People can keep up to date on the Staffordshire History Center blog.

Victoria Wilson, Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture, said:

“We are incredibly proud of our fascinating history in Staffordshire and can’t wait until we open next week.

We are all incredibly excited about the new center which will allow us to preserve our amazing collections, while our outreach activities will help us reach local communities and schools and get even more people excited about our history. “We are extremely grateful for the funding from the Heritage Fund and look forward to welcoming people to the centre.”

The adjacent restored William Salt Library building, which is part of the new center, showcases William Salt’s unique collection and the history of the library building, which has been fondly remembered by local residents for decades.

William Salt Library President Mithra Tonking said:

“Thanks to this fantastic project, the charity’s heritage William Salt Library building has been restored to new uses. It will also tell the history of the much-loved building in Stafford’s past and showcase the unique William Salt Library collection.

“This important and diverse collection of Staffordshire’s history will now be housed in new warehouses at the History Center and will be available to researchers following a major cataloging programme.”

Julian Glover, Trustee and Chairman of the National Lottery Heritage Fund England, Midlands and East Committee, said:

“We are thrilled that the new Staffordshire History Center is opening following a £4.8 million investment from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. “Thanks to National Lottery players, state-of-the-art archive and collection facilities will enable communities and visitors of all ages to delve deeper into Staffordshire’s fascinating past.”

Combining the three important collections of the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service, the County Museum and the William Salt Library, the new History Center will offer visitors the chance to access and explore fascinating archives and artefacts that tell the story of Staffordshire’s past. .

Some of the exhibits on display include a Spider Coach from 1890, a Charles I silk evening hat from the 1630s, and a James Brindley notebook from 1772. Wulfric Spot’s will, which confirms the donation of the land on which Burton Priory was founded, is also on display. This document is more than 1000 years old.

Not only is it a home to historical collections, the new center also features a redesigned research suite perfect for local historians, genealogists and academics to delve deeper into Staffordshire’s past. Reservations are now open for researchers who want to consult the original documents.

The new education and learning space will host a variety of school programs, workshops and events designed for all ages. There will be a series of events for visitors to attend throughout November and December, including featured talks and family-friendly crafts.