£46.8m Plymouth archive and museum space opens
A new £46.8 million archive, museum and artgallery space has opened in Plymouth.
The Box ( theboxplymouth.com) opened its doors to the public on 29 September; the opening had been delayed from May because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Visits are free, but must be booked in advance.
More than two million objects have been transferred to the new venue, which boasts 13 galleries and exhibition spaces.
“There really is something for everyone to enjoy,” collections manager Louisa Blight told Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine. “The collections are spread across a variety of different exhibition spaces, but there are spaces dedicated to research and engagement with the breadth of the collections as well.”
The Box occupies the locations of the former City Museum and Art Gallery and Central Library, with additional exhibition spaces in the neighbouring St Luke’s Church and Plymouth Arts Institute. It is also the new home for the extensive archives of the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office.
The archives used to be stored in a warehouse located on the periphery of the city.
Blight explained, “The old location was not effectively fit for purpose in terms of an archive store. We now have full bespoke storage – environmentally controlled, accessible and right within the city centre. That was the catalyst for the whole project initially, but now it’s grown and become so much more.”
The archives are stored in a newly built storey, the Box in the Sky. There is also an Active Archive gallery where visitors can explore digitised materials, including parish registers via Findmypast ( findmypast.co.uk), and use a bespoke map table to overlay maps of the city throughout history.
Blight added that the entire building has been designed with the goal of allowing a ‘hands-on’ experience that puts the whole regional archive at visitors’ fingertips.
“Obviously in the current climate we have reduced capacity on our research elements, but we are already seeing huge interest from researchers who want to visit and find out more about family history or local history,” she said.
There is also a Media Lab at The Box, which provides access to film, TV and still images from the South West Image Bank and the South West Film and Television Archive.
One of The Box’s major new exhibitions is ‘Mayflower 400: Legend and Legacy’, which has been developed in partnership with the Native American Wampanoag tribe to tell the story of the voyage of the Mayflower and the Puritan settlers. There is also an interactive display where visitors can explore data from the New England Historic Genealogical Society to trace the descendants of the ship’s passengers.
Maureen Selley of the Devon Family History Society said, “It’s early days at The Box and its contents will be subject to change, but the overall experience is magnificent.”
‘We are already seeing huge interest from researchers who want to visit’