NEW HISTORY HUB HAS A STORY TO TELL
THE name has been chosen for a new history centre which will house more than five miles of archives, charting almost 900 years of County Durham history.
Work is under way to bring the 19th century listed Mount St Oswald manor house in Durham back into use as a history hub, pulling together archive, heritage and registration services into a single location.
The centre, due to open to the public next year, is to be called The Story at Mount Oswald.
The refurbished building, with a new extension, will provide a home for historic registration records, the historic environment record, local studies collections and the DLI collection. Durham Register Office will also relocate to the site
It will bring into one central location the story of the history and heritage of the county, as told through historic records, photographs and objects. Currently these are stored in four separate locations.
The new venue will support the county’s bid to be named UK City of Culture 2025, and will transform the way the history of County Durham is told.
Coun Elizabeth Scott, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “We’re delighted to be able to announce the name of County Durham’s new history centre, which promises to be a popular destination for residents and visitors.
“The Story is a fitting name as the site will help to create new stories and share old ones. This includes registering a birth, celebrating love stories through weddings and civil partnerships, and sharing tales of honour won in battle alongside the history of our towns and villages, our traditions, our culture and our homes.
“We are putting visitors at the heart of the experience so that they feel represented, understood and celebrated. The Story will be a place not just to uncover history, but where visitors can mark their own milestones.
“History and heritage are an integral part of County Durham and our heritage venues, like The Story, are central to our bid to be named UK City of Culture 2025. The venue will allow us to show off even more of our diverse cultural offering to residents and visitors of all ages, backgrounds and circumstance.”
There will be enhanced registration facilities with weddings and civil ceremonies in a historic setting, free entry to exhibitions exploring the history of County Durham and an education programme for schools.
In January, Durham County Record Office closed to in-person visits so the team can focus on packing up the miles of records ready for the move. The Mount Oswald Manor House was built around 1830. The surrounding land was used as a golf course in recent years, with the Manor House acting as the club house, bar, restaurant, changing rooms and storage.