Latest News from Cheshire Archives and Local Studies
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Cheshire’s archives: a story shared
Take a virtual tour of our new centres! 'Fly throughs’ of the new buildings in Crewe and Chester are now available online, giving a flavour of how they will look when they open in 2026.
A Moving Story - Take a Virtual Tour of Our New Centres!
What makes Congleton Congleton?
Imagine you have just moved to Congleton or you have guests from out of town for the weekend – then imagine an online search that helps people get to know the place. What has shaped the area, how has it changed and what makes it unique today? This is the Gems online experience currently under construction. Pop in a postcode and you will be presented with the closest things to you – new digitisation from our collections that tells the stories that matter locally and made your place what it is. They will be a mix of old, maybe very old, and new and a mix of photographs, documents, voice recordings, film clips, maps – anything from recorded history.
We need your help – to check our choices and add the local stories – what would you include in 100 gems for Congleton? On Saturday 28 June from 11am at Congleton Museum you will be able to see what has been selected so far and give us your opinion! Do these stories reflect Congleton or is there anything missing? Everyone is welcome, no booking is required and the event is completely free.
Nantwich and Winsford Gems surveys
Next up, it’s the turn of Nantwich and Winsford – which of the images and documents shortlisted by local community groups and volunteers would you like to see become Gems? Perhaps you can also identify some of the mystery images or tell us more about key people, events and local landmarks. Don’t forget, it’s you who decides which Gems will appear on our new website so make your vote count!
Nantwich Gems survey
Winsford Gems survey
Thank you to everyone who has responded so far to our Ellesmere Port Gems survey, and for those of you who haven’t, the survey is still available online.
Ellesmere Port Gems survey
Food for thought: artistic imaginings of Cheshire’s historic recipes
As part of Chester Festival of Ideas, join us for Food for Thought, a free exhibition of over 30 original artworks created by four community-led art collectives from across the county.
Using some of the more unusual recipes from our collections as inspiration, multi-disciplinary artists have imagined flummery islands, transmogrifying meat dishes, and fitting the solar system into jelly. The archives team look forward to welcoming you to the Contemporary Art Space Chester (CASC) Gallery, Grosvenor Shopping Centre, Chester from Wednesday 3 July to Sunday 6 July between 11am and 4pm.
We are hosting family-friendly events on Saturday 5 July, including a Storytime at 11.30am featuring Cheshire cheese, and Playing with Food: two free, drop-in workshops (for ages 6+) led by contemporary artist, Iain Davidson, creating art from one of Cheshire’s most famous natural resources, salt. Booking is not required but those wishing to attend should arrive at 1pm or 2pm the start of each hour-long session.
Cheshire Archives at Chester Festival of Ideas
Our latest stories shared
Pass the Salt was a Living Memory event we held in Winsford. We invited people to bring along items connected with their involvement in the salt industry, and to tell their stories through these photographs, objects and mementoes.
Archives in Action - Pass the Salt!
Discover how over 3,500 newly digitised iconic images from the Warrington and Runcorn New Town collection are now available to search on our catalogue.
The Collections Story - A New Catalogue for New Town Images
The story of the mysterious violet map cabinet that’s larger than our librarian herself!
The Collections Story - Drawers of Treasure!
Welcome to Anya!
At the end of April, we welcomed Anya Moon to the role of Community Engagement Officer for the Cheshire's archives: a story shared project. Since joining the team Anya has been busy familiarising herself with the service and the project. She is looking forward to getting out to meet people and groups already involved and building new relationships over the coming months.
Searchroom news
Our amber-tinted Searchroom image indicates that in-person access to the collections is now closed.
Although the Record Office closed to the public on 8 August our online services are not affected, and you are still able to order copies of documents and request research services (until the image turns red at the start of 2026 to indicate full closure!). Libraries across Cheshire will continue to provide access to local history books and maps as well as providing free access to family history websites.
Visiting us