You can walk from shelf to shelf immersing yourself in ages past.
Now the University of Huddersfield’s incredible archives at Heritage Quay have received special honours from the Royal Historical Society (RHS).
The £2 million project - funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund - has been commended by the RHS for its “promotion of public history” in the new Public History Prize Awards.
The biennial awards are there to recognise work which enhance the public’s understanding of the past with regards to social, political and cultural life.
Heritage Quay is one of the UK’s most technologically-advanced archive centres.
The commendation in the Museums and Exhibitions category comes just 14 months after the centre was opened by Sir Gary Verity.
Fiona Spiers, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Yorkshire, said: “We are delighted to hear that this wonderful project has received this richly-deserved award.
“The archive’s range is breathtaking covering not only social, cultural, political and industrial history but also music, the arts and sport, so we welcome this recognition pf the sterling work of the project and the University.”
Heritage Quay holds thousands of documents, some of international importance, including the British Music Collection in partnership with Sound and Music and, most appropriately, the official Rugby League Archive.
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The archive also helps local historians and members of the public develop their knowledge with its public history programme, which is chiefly organised by Participation and Engagement Officer David Smith.
Brigid Bradley, Rugby League Cares Heritage Programme Manager, acclaimed Heritage Quay’s work to be nothing short of amazing in looking after and making their collection accessible to the public.
“Their outreach programme is fantastic,” said Brigid.
“It allows many people who are interested in the history of Rugby League to learn new skills and discover archival gems, all on the basis of our collection.
“The work they do is to an exceptional standard and we feel very fortunate to be partners with them,” she added.
Heritage Quay’s archivist Sarah Wickham said they were delighted to receive recognition from the RHS, which has long been regarded the principal organisation for British historical scholarship.
