Dorset History Centre has received support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for its Past Lives, Future Proofed project.
Thanks to National Lottery players, this project aims to:
- provide new and expanded storage for Dorset’s physical archives
- keep archives safe in secure, environmentally controlled storage
The project will also improve public areas at Dorset History Centre.
As a result, we will be able to:
- deliver a major programme of public engagement activity
- help make archives accessible to a wide variety of people
Development funding of £603,777 has been awarded by the Heritage Fund. This will support Dorset History Centre in progressing its plans to apply for a full grant of £3.8 million.
The building opened over 35 years ago, and the archive storage areas are almost full. This project will solve that problem. It will fund collections and engagement work, including urgent work to preserve digital records. Heritage Fund support will help us build the skills and capacity needed to care for Dorset’s heritage in the future.
We will work with arts organisations and practitioners to identify archives for preservation. We will also engage with under-represented communities whose cultural heritage is not yet part of the county’s archival holdings. The project will open up access to Dorset’s significant Quarter Sessions court records dating from 1709. This work will be delivered in partnership with museums.
The development phase of the project will last for 18 months. There will be opportunities for the wider public to get involved. We will advertise volunteer opportunities on our website and provide opportunities for you to give us your views on our plans in due course. We will advertise volunteer opportunities on our website.
We will keep everyone up to date on our project progress with regular updates via our newsletter and blog.