History centre begins new era

Buy photos » Head of the History Centre Paul Hudson and archive assistant Hilary Myatt get packing ahead of the move to The Hive. Picture by Marcus Mingins 1712028MMR. Order the pictures at www.buyphotos247.com

STAFF at an archive centre which has attracted nearly a million visitors in the past decade are preparing for an exciting new chapter.

After 11 years the History Centre, on Trinity Street, has finally closed its doors and completed its move to The Hive.

About 9,000 books, 16 microfilm cabinets, 25 microfilm readers and many other historic documents were packed up and taken across in six lorry loads to the £60million history and library centre, which opens on July 2.

The history centre is now part of the Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service, which will see both public branches of the Records Office and the Archaeology Service situated under one roof.

Head of the history centre Paul Hudson said it would enable people to access a wider range of archive sources on the county in one building.

“The Hive is great and we have had a lot of input into what it needs to be like, so it’s purpose built,” he said.

“The facilities are going to be really good and we also have the advantage of both public branches of the record office being together and alongside archaeology. People can now come and do all sorts of things in one visit and there are lots of ways we can work with our other partners in the building.”

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