West Yorkshire History Centre

The centre evolved from the West Riding Registry of Deeds, opened on Kirkgate in Wakefield in 1704.

In 1932, the records were transferred to a new building on Newstead Road in the city, later becoming the West Yorkshire Archive Service.

It moved to its current building, back on Kirkgate, in 2016, by which time it held more than 10 million records.

[1][2][3] In addition to the 7 million deeds, the centre holds surviving records of the West Riding of Yorkshire, from 1194 onwards, the National Coal Board collection of records relating to the local area, and the records of Stanley Royd Hospital.

These are surrounded by a metal mesh wrap, which is lit with changing colours in the evenings.