We have broken ground on the first phase of work to build a brand new £5.1m history centre for Staffordshire.
The new centre will see an extension to the existing Staffordshire Record Office building on Eastgate Street in Stafford, incorporating the renovated and redisplayed William Salt Library building.
A modern glazed entrance will link both buildings, creating a bright exhibition space to showcase museum, archive and William Salt library collections. Additional strong rooms will provide space for a further 55 years of collections.
Over the next three months, our team, led by site manager Ant Hughes, will start the refurbishment of the William Salt Library and existing records office by stripping out the interiors, do the groundworks for the new strong room and begin the footings for the new link that will form the new entrance.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture at Staffordshire County Council said: “It’s great to see work on our fantastic new history centre get underway.
“We’re all incredibly excited about the project. Not only will it provide a brand-new heritage attraction for the county but it will bring together our amazing collections in one place. It will also help preserve the precious records we already have as well as provide storage space for another 55 years of collections.
“But as well as the new centre, a dedicated programme of touring exhibitions will also help take the Staffordshire story out into local communities, helping to get more people interested in our fascinating history.”
The total cost of the project is £8,780,239 with a grant of £4,858,699 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, made possible by money raised by National Lottery players. Additional match funding of £3,921,540 was raised by the partnership, including Staffordshire County Council funding, grants, donations from local organisations and friends and in-kind contributions from volunteers.