Thank you to our funders

In our series thanking funders, we’d like to say a big thank you this quarter to the Wolfson Foundation, www.wolfson.org.uk. They kindly awarded £31k for the fit-out of our new research room.  We’re particularly pleased with the beautiful ash furniture, especially the stylish document issue desk and matching shelves made by Smith & Choyce, local joiners from Barton Street, Gloucester.  This desk also fulfils an important security role in a room where most of us are handling unique and irreplaceable archives. 

Some of the tables have levers that enable them to function at different levels to accommodate different sizes of wheelchairs or those who may prefer to work standing up, as demonstrated above.

We’re really benefitting from the flexibility afforded by the new moveable acoustic walls with glass panels. We can now divide the research area for use by individual researchers, volunteers, and community groups as required.   The new space is all about the activities that take place within it.  Although the Heritage Hub is still in its infancy, we’ve already seen some good cross-fertilization between the different groups – which was very much part of our vision when designing the new Hub and really pleasing to see.  It was also good to show our newly refurbished facilities to fellow professionals by hosting an action learning set on e-preservation.  Another highlight for staff was helping a member of our local community prove his mother went to school in Gloucester after she arrived in the UK from Jamaica in the mid-1960s – a profound moment for all involved. 

Researchers have commented favourably on our new research room. Examples include:  research space has a really nice peaceful and studious feel; ash wood doors and furniture classy; space works really well; movable acoustic doors with glass panels are the best investment; we were really impressed with what has been achieved – bright, fresh, modern – and the colour scheme feels just right, it seems quite calming, perfect for concentration. 

With the generous assistance of the Wolfson Foundation, we feel we are well on our way to transforming our archives service, with volunteers and community groups at its heart.