Today the Queen. accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, officially opened The Keep, at Woollards Field near Falmer. The Keep is a £19 million state of the art resource centre which will provide a home for archives and historical resources of East Sussex and Brighton and Hove.
The centre brings together archives from Brighton and Hove City Council, East Sussex County Council, and the Special Collections of the University of Sussex, which includes the internationally renowned Mass Observation Archive. The building will also include the library and headquarters of the Sussex Family History Group.
The Keep will open to the public on November 19th and a brand new website for it is due to go online next month. In the meantime if you would like to find out more, then visit the East Sussex County Council website here.
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I was there! And as a member of ‘The Keep User Group’ was introduced to Her Majesty, who asked who I was and what I did! And she shook my hand (never to be washed again!).
The Keep is a fantastic archive and those sad at the demise of the Brighton History Centre should be heartened that all the marvellous BHC staff are out there and that much of the ‘hidden’ local history material held at BHC is now on full access. It really is a 21st century archive and a great addition to the culture of the city, a shame it had to be out on the urban fringe, but anyone visiting will be impressed at the effort made by all involved in giving the county and city a great resource.
As I posted on another page, I’m really excited about the opening of The Keep. I’ve missed being able to visit the BHC, but I’m sure that the new archive centre will surpass all expectations. There appears to be plenty of parking so I, for one, will not mind that it is situated on the city outskirts.
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