Bury St Edmunds West Suffolk Archives branch must stay in the historic town, say campaigners

More than 100 people gathered this week in protest of the planned closure of the West Suffolk Archives branch.

The archives, which are stored at the branch in Raingate Street, Bury St Edmunds, range from original documents including letters, reports, photographs, maps, plans, council and parish records, commercial records, historic collections, newspapers and personal items

They have been kept in the town for centuries and are used daily by everyone from those researching family history to groups and societies looking to secure their past - for future generations.

Martyn Taylor, historian and chairman of The Bury Society, has launched a campaign to save the branch, on behalf of the society, called Hands Off Our Archives.

It runs alongside a SuffolkNews (Bury Free Press) campaign, called Save Our History.

He said: “We have had support from people from all walks of life.

“These include members of The Bury Society, the town’s Tour Guides, Bury Past and Present, The Bury Town Trust, Suffolk Archives volunteers, St Mary’s, the Cathedral, and also those that travelled from afar to offer their support in person, this week.

“I wasn’t surprised by the turnout as it just goes to show the strength of feelings people have.

“These records belong in Bury St Edmunds, not Ipswich. There are so many, from the Bury Psalter to the Cullum Library, Bury Hospital, the Catholic church of St Edmund, The Spanton Jarman Collection, Suffolk Regiment Archives and numerous archives on private loan to what most people in Bury St Edmunds refer to as the Record Office.

“After a meeting with interested parties at the branch a couple of years ago, we were assured these archives would stay in Bury.

“I had trepidations from day one when it was announced that The Hold was going to be the Heritage Centre of Suffolk; unfortunately I have been proved right.

“We are the oldest purposefully recorded Norman town in the country. We would be losing our heritage, simple as that. The archives must stay in Bury.”

Suffolk County Council announced its plans to close the branch, along with that in Lowestoft, East Suffolk, in a bid to make £64.7m budget cuts. It says centralising the archives at The Hold could save about £140,000 a year.

In February 2023, Suffolk County Council committed £3.4m to move West Suffolk Archives branch to the proposed Western Way hub development in Bury St Edmunds.

The council said remaining at its current location would have required over £5m to protect the historic records and meet modern archive standards.

West Suffolk Council has since decided to shelve the Western Way development following concerns over cost and risk.

Richard Summers, retired coordinator of the Abbey of St Edmund Heritage Partnership, said: “It is essential to keep all available archives about the Abbey of St Edmund in Bury St Edmunds.

“It makes no sense for them to be separated from their origins as one of the objectives of the Heritage Partnership is to enable visitors and researchers of all ages and interests to study them on the spot.”

West Suffolk Archives currently employs nine staff, including three part-time.

The county council budget proposals, including the closure plans, will be considered by all county councillors on February 15.

If agreed, a plan will be drawn up for relocation to The Hold by the end of 2024. The council say ‘staffing matters will be considered as part of that delivery plan.’

According to Suffolk County Council, visitor figures for 2022/23 were 1,654, including regular repeat visits from some customers who visit weekly, or more than once a week, as well as one-time customers.

The service is almost entirely publicly funded by the county council - but the council says generates ‘a small amount’ of income from activities such as events and research services to cover ‘some costs’.

John Saunders, historian and chair of St Edmund’s Catholic Church History Group said: “The proposed closure is devastating for local individuals and groups.

“In the past, people have entrusted historic documents on the understanding that they will be locally held and available and I am sure many will now examine whether they should require these items to be returned.

“The decision has been made against a background of income generation from the disposal of buildings in the Shire Hall area and extensive outlay on the creation of the Hold at Ipswich, leaving the people of Bury as the poor and forgotten relations.”

Suffolk County Council says centralisation of the archives will enable it to run the archives service more efficiently and invest some of the savings in long term service improvements for customers.

It says the current Raingate Street building is constrained by its listed status, poor layout, lack of parking space and disabled access.

It hopes the move would help improve access to archives through offering ‘on-the-day’ and increased digital productions, and enable wider audience reach through outreach and engagement activities.

John Popham, trustee of the Bury Town Trust, which works to preserve the built heritage of the town, said: “The archives are exceptionally important to trust and we simply can’t operate properly restoring buildings without access to the archives in town.”

For more about The Bury Society, visit: www.burysociety.com

West Suffolk Archives is currently open between 10am and 4pm, Tuesday to Friday, and between 10.30am to 3pm on Saturday.