We were delighted to welcome our partners from Staffordshire County Council and the William Salt Museum along to the site of the new Staffordshire History Centre to see how our work is progressing.
We’re very proud to have won the contract to build the new centre, which is being formed by extending the existing Staffordshire Record Office on Eastgate Street in Stafford to incorporate the William Salt Library.
A modern glazed entrance will link both buildings, creating exhibition space to showcase museum, archive and library collections with additional strong rooms installed to build space for a further 55 years of collections.
Councillor Victoria Wilson, cabinet member for communities and culture at Staffordshire County Council, and David Marriot, vice chair of trustees at the William Salt Library came to see how things were shaping up six months into the build.
Both were thrilled to see how far things have moved on.
Councillor Wilson said: It’s great to see the progress so far. We’re six months in and there’s a lot of work already done. Having had a tour of the site and meeting with the team overseeing everything we can’t wait until it’s all up and running. The new extension at the back of the building will give us much more storage space for archives while the modern glazed area will allow us to display some of the amazing collections.”
Dave Marriot added: The progress has been fantastic and it is great to be part of this exciting project.
“We are really excited that the home of the William Salt Library is being preserved as part of the project and that it will be here for many years to come. The William Salt collection is rather unique, a fascinating range of documents and artefacts which will all be showcased and cared for within part of the new building at the Staffordshire History Centre.”
Foundation work at the rear of the site for the four-storey extension is complete and the building will soon start to emerge. In the courtyard, where the exhibition space will be, the floor slab and the wooden frame are in place, masonry works on the wall is ongoing and beams are being lifted in place shortly.
Meanwhile restoration works and repairs are also under way in the William Salt Library. During the work historic wallpaper was uncovered in a number of rooms which will be conserved and displayed when the centre is open, for everyone to see.
The Staffordshire History Centre project has been made possible thanks to a grant of £4,858,699 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.