The Hold opened in September 2020 and also hosts various exhibitions, town walks and lectures.
[3] Under the aegis of the Suffolk Local History Council the collection had grown significantly.
[4] In 1976 the collection was rehoused in the care of the Suffolk Record Office facilities then located in the former Bramford Road School.
By 2018 they had finalised their plans for The Hold, a new purpose built building that would also house a 200 seat auditorium, which would also be used by the university.
Following the opening of The Hold, lorry loads of material was removed from the Lowestoft Record Office to be relocated in Ipswich.