Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre
Existing accommodation for the Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office, in a former mattress factory in Trowbridge, had been declared sub-standard by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts in 1998.
This was announced at the WCC Cabinet on 18 March; that meeting also confirmed that the name of the new facility was to be "The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre".
The building is a concrete and glass construction, covering 4,000 square metres on two floors (approximately the same area as five football pitches).
After eighteen months of planning, each service moved from their former site to the new centre in Chippenham between February and October 2007.
In the late 1970s it became apparent that there was demand for information on archaeology in the form of enquiries from planners, highways engineers and developers and a decision was made to establish the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR).
The recording and giving of advice is currently the primary role of the Service and excavations are now principally carried out by other agencies.
Advice has been supplied to County and District Planning Officers since 1980, and in 1984 links were formed with the Ministry of Defence as a result of its substantial holdings in Wiltshire.
It was established in 1947 and now holds over seven miles of archives, representing over 3,000 organisations and millions of individuals and their history, stretching back to Norman times.
Initially based in County Hall, it transferred to Chapman's Building, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, in the 1970s.
For an area that until comparatively recently had a small and largely agricultural population, the quantity of surviving records (over 850 cubic metres) is impressive.
The Wiltshire Buildings Record has ties with other specialised bodies, including representatives from archaeology, museums, local history, archives, planning and architecture.
The service provides specialist advice on all aspects of collections care, remedial conservation and training courses.
Income is generated by selling conservation expertise to a wide range of heritage organisations including Swindon Borough Council and other services throughout the UK.
The library collects, preserves and makes available for research all Wiltshire publications, including videos, CDs, tapes and CD-ROMS.
The centre operates a computerised user registration system, so a form of identification including name and address is required.
