Welcome to the first Heritage Hub newsletter of 2026.
There is much to look forward to this year although, first of all, we must quickly mention our final event of 2025. The achievements of last year, notably Gloucestershire Archives winning the ARA Record Keeping Service of the Year award, followed by our 'best in show' honey and then a volunteering award [more on this later in a separate article] were celebrated with a gathering held on 17th December with staff, partners, volunteers and visitors, in other words everyone who helps to make the Heritage Hub a special place. There was a formal presentation, a raffle, which raised £80 for the Teenage Cancer Trust [thanks to everyone who contributed] and rather a lot of cake! If you attended, we hope you enjoyed celebrating with us but ultimately, even if you didn't, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support.
But, that is 'so last year'...! A new year represents a fresh start and already the Hub is a hive of activity. Ten Saturday events are currently being organised in tandem with online 'Secrets Revealed' sessions on a myriad of themes including love, wildlife, music, the General Strike centenary, sport, heritage crafts and careers, cinema, rivers, breweries, family history and aviation. With Voices Gloucester, we are continuing our Heritage Schools programme, encouraging young people to develop a love of history and community engagement. A number of visits of student historians, 'Heritage Ambassadors' and trainee teachers are scheduled in the calendar. We have our second 'group work experience session' fully booked in July and we are shortly taking delivery of some new scanning equipment which will enhance the accessibility and reach of our Service - more on this in a future newsletter perhaps.
Accessibility, however, is something we are particularly keen to examine in greater depth this year. By accessibility, we don't just mean moving around the building. We want to encourage new audiences to visit and enjoy the Hub, actively gather archives from under-represented groups and catalogue specific collections to widen our appeal. Gloucestershire Archives' staff have been inspired by visits to other heritage institutions throughout the second half of 2025, made possible by the 'Skilling Up the South West' project funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund. It is always interesting to see how different archive offices operate and we're all now brimming with ideas.
That said, we are really keen to hear your comments and suggestions about our Service too. Our visitor survey, an annual requirement for all public facing County Council services, is now open. Please take the online survey here - Visitor Survey 2026 or you can pick up a paper copy from main Reception. Thank you for taking part and we look forward to welcoming you at the Hub throughout the coming year and beyond.