A Moving Story - What We Did in October
There’s been a huge amount happening in October, and for the first time, we can say that collections are now arriving in their new Chester home!
Before the move began, the team gave the strongroom shelving a final clean, ready to welcome thousands of archive boxes. Jamie Briggs specialist removal team then got to work, carefully transferring standard-sized boxes before moving on to some of our larger, more unusual and bespoke packaging.
It's exciting to see strongrooms emptying at one end and the new strongroom filling up at the other. Here’s a video of Heather individually welcoming each box to its new home…
We've also begun working with digital storytellers Heritage Interactive, who have been commissioned to create the short films that will feature in the stage areas at our new centres in Chester and Crewe.
Each site will showcase eight films inspired by our collections. Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the River Dee, street performance and the Mystery Plays, the pioneering work of Dr John Haygarth, Crewe Carnival, Foden's engineering heritage, and Crewe Station's role in countless lives.
Final touches are also being made to our new online offer, including an exhibition, The Cheshire Story, tracing the county's history through remarkable records on themes including agriculture, industry and transport, covering subjects such as salt mining, the chemical and dairy industries, and the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal.
Testing out the equipment in our stage area, where short films will be projected.
We've also also welcomed our first visitors. Fifteen of our existing Chester-based volunteers dropped in, and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive. They loved the bright, welcoming spaces and the excellent facilities that will support both their work and visitors' experiences.
We'll be recruiting new volunteers in the spring across a range of roles, working with collections, welcoming visitors, and supporting activities and events. Whether you're interested in learning new skills, meeting people, sharing your knowledge or supporting your local archive, we'd love to hear from you. Keep an eye on our newsletter for more information about opportunities to get involved in 2027!
And finally, we're looking ahead to the moment we can start welcoming new visitors into the building for the very first time. We've been refreshing some of our favourite items we share on introductory tours, and we have a new star!
A parish register from St Bridget's Church in Chester, covering the years 1649-1710 contains so much more than the usual records of baptisms, marriages and burials. It has been used to record payments of the duty on these events intended to raise money for England's wars with France. Lots of additional information about occupations from surgeon to distiller of strong waters in a relatively small patch of Chester provides real insight into the people who lived and worked there more than 300 years ago.
Below is a sneak peek of the register before it takes its place on future tours...
By Becky Farmer, Archivist
