Cheshire Archives to move to Crewe and Hoole

The site at Crewe aims to engage people in a more digital way

In a 19th Century warehouse in the heart of Chester city centre, the county of Cheshire's history is kept.

But not for much longer.

Cheshire Archives - the home of archives for the entire county - will be relocating from its current location to two new, purpose built centres, which have recently secured planning permission.

One of these will be in Crewe, marking the first time the south of the county has had a dedicated history centre.

The other will be a short distance from the current site, in the Chester suburb of Hoole.

As a result, hundreds of years' worth of historic documents including maps, books, images and more will soon be the move.

Paul Newman, archives and local studies manager at Cheshire Archives, called the collection a "community memory"

"We hold here what we like to think of as the community memory of Cheshire," explained Paul Newman, who is archives and local studies manager at Cheshire Archives.

"We have records from hospitals, schools, community organisations, businesses from the Middle Ages to the present day."

He said although the current site had been well suited for research purposes in the past, people now wanted to engage with archive material in a different way.

It means the building the service has been in since 1986, is no longer fit for purpose.

"The two new centres will have research spaces, but also event spaces, places for schools and big exhibition spaces as well. And alongside this there will be much bigger digital access," he said.

Wider revamp

It's particularly significant for Crewe, which has never had its own history centre before, meaning access to collections will be available in the area for the first time.

The scheme is also part of the wider revamp of Crewe town centre.

The history centre project would include demolishing the town's old library and transforming a public square.

Nick Mannion, chair of Cheshire East Council's economy and growth committee, said the project was a "significant step" towards the council's vision for the town centre.

Mr Newman said during a consultation on locations for the archives sites, it was found that Crewe had the greatest potential to grow an audience for the collections in the county.

The Herball, a history of plants by Nantwich-born John Gerard, dating from 1633 will feature in the new centres

"People in Crewe are clearly very proud of the heritage of the town, so we know there's a lot of potential there," he said.

"Residents will have opportunities to see archives relating to the town and its development over the past 200 years."

He added the team were also planning to exhibit items at community locations in the town.

The move is expected to take several months, but Mr Newman said the team had already started planning.

"We're planning exactly where pretty much all the items are going to go in the new centres," he said.

"It's a big job, but lots of archives have done it before, so we're learning from others' experience."

The centres, which are funded by local authorities in the areas and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, are set to open in 2025.