Thursday 27th September 2007
(ref:
WLCT133/2007)
Wigan’s proud heritage received a major boost today as The History Shop received official confirmation of a £500,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The grant will help secure The History Shop’s future as a ‘heritage hub’ for the whole of Wigan Borough as part of Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust’s vision for Heritage Services.
Thanks to this funding, the site where George Orwell researched ‘The Road to Wigan Pier’, will undergo dramatic physical improvements including:
- new exciting museum displays and exhibition areas;
- major access improvements including a lift to the first floor;
- a full refurbishment of the study and research areas;
- and new toilet facilities on the ground floor.
Match funding of £405,000 from Wigan Council will also help to restore the roof and other external fabrics ensuring the building fits in with exciting future plans to develop the adjacent Joint Service Centre in the town centre.
In total over £1.3million will be invested in the facility over the next two years with Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust providing £325,000, and another £100,000 coming from other external grants.
Chair of Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust Jacqui Boardman said: “This grant will be a significant boost to The History Shop but also to how we develop Heritage Services across the borough. We thank the Heritage Lottery Fund for sharing our confidence in the plans we have to make Wigan’s proud heritage accessible to as many people as possible.
“The end product of this investment will be a more user-friendly and more easily accessible facility with interesting displays for people to engage with. Our aim is to take heritage out into the community through a variety of programmes with The History Shop acting as the key hub for heritage. This is an exciting day and will allow us to unlock all the potential that heritage holds to make our borough a better place.”
The History Shop, formerly the Wigan Reference Library, was designed by renowned architect Alfred Waterhouse who also created famous sites such as Manchester Town Hall and The Natural History Museum.
The library was transformed into The History Shop in 1992 and became one of the first historical research and study centres of its type in the UK. It is now hugely popular with genealogical researchers and local historians.
Wigan Council’s Cabinet Lifestyle Champion Cllr. Brian Baldwin said: “We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has backed our ambitions to improve this historic facility. The Council approved the extra funding to ensure that The History Shop continues to play an active part of the town centre.
“We are determined that heritage will play a key role in the borough’s cultural development. Together with other projects such as the Wigan Pier Quarter we are confident that The History Shop will help us to achieve those ambitions.”
Heritage Lottery Fund Casework Manager for the North West Peter Fellows said: "We are passionate about creating opportunities for communities to explore their heritage. This project will bring together a treasure trove of local history and set Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust well on their way to transforming the way the past is brought to life.”
The Heritage Lottery Fund grant award follows a long process of planning, development and hard work helping to fulfil the Trust’s vision for Heritage Services: “To engage people in their own and Wigan’s heritage through creative management and use of archives, collections and heritage resources.”
Alongside the developments at The History Shop the long term objectives to improve the quality of Heritage Services across the borough include:
- the development of the Wigan Pier Quarter's Arts and Heritage Learning Centre;
- broadening access to the collections including those held in the archives at Leigh Town Hall and local history at the Turnpike Centre, Leigh;
- ensuring that learning is at the centre of the service through exhibitions, activities and outreach work;
- providing support to all groups who wish to get involved in their own heritage.
There is also a specific fund put aside to improve access to Wigan Borough’s extensive photographic collection. Five thousand images will be digitised and made available to all, initially via the Internet.
For further information about The History Shop contact Philip Butler, Visitor Services Manager, Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust on 01942 827594 or visit Wigan Leaisure and Culture Trust - Heritage.
