A Moving Story - What We Did In July
July was yet another busy and hot month for us here at Cheshire Archives. The high temperatures stopped us spending too much time in the strongrooms, so we’ve focussed on essential collections work instead.
The Local Studies team got another pre-move task ticked off, in the shape of our folded map collection. Maps were checked and appraised, ready for boxing and barcoding. Highlights included an almost psychedelic geological map of Cheshire and Lancashire, and an early Michelin guide.
The Local Studies team have also started barcoding the Rare Books collection ready for relocation. Each book was given an acid-free bookmark with its unique class number and barcode.
In the archives, Caroline has been working on a County Civil Defence collection, which includes images of the Food Flying Squad of Tarporley and Delamere. A mobile canteen and emergency feeding service established during World War II by the Ministry of Food, the Food Flying Squad was operated by the Women's Voluntary Service and eventually became Meals on Wheels.
Joy has been sorting through the P.H. Lawson collection, reuniting some architectural drawings which years ago had become separated from the main collection. Alderman Lawson, an architect, was Mayor of Chester in 1950-1951 and a member of the Chester Archaeological Society for more than 50 years. We took the opportunity to admire the antiquarian’s somewhat whimsical interpretations of buildings and architecture in Chester.
We’ve also re-discovered some very large plans for the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge! Construction started on the bridge in 1901 and it was completed in 1905, spanning the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal until it was replaced in 1961. We have digitised images of the bridge available, which makes for interesting comparison alongside these coloured plans, signed by the designers of the bridge, J. J. Webster and J. T. Wood.
Kate and Heather prepared our monthly newsletter, which now goes out to over 4,850 subscribers. Don’t yet subscribe? Follow this link: Subscribe to our newsletter. We also share behind-the-scenes photos and videos on Facebook and Instagram, where you can also get to know more about the various jobs (and people!) needed to prepare for the move.
The new archives centre in Chester will be handed over to us in August, so stay tuned for next month’s highlights!
By Heather Vernon, Local Studies Librarian
