Latest News from Cheshire Archives and Local Studies

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Construction of our new centre begins

We were delighted to see that our construction contractor, Kier, started work on our sites in Chester in November and Crewe in January. We held a drop-in session in November for residents at Hoole Community Centre to share information about what’s coming and to answer questions they had.

We are holding a drop-in at Crewe Market on Thursday 20 February, from 11am to 1pm. Some of the team will be there, together with Kier, to talk to people about the new centre in Crewe and its construction.

Currently we are expecting the new centres to be open in the middle of 2026. We will continue to keep you updated through this newsletter.

Our photograph below shows the Crewe site as construction begins.

Searchroom image

Our amber-tinted Searchroom image indicates that in-person access to the collections is now closed. Our online services remain unaffected and you are still able to order copies of documents and request research services until the start of 2026. Libraries across Cheshire will continue to provide access to local history books and maps as well as providing free access to family history websites.

1921 census new to Ancestry

Ancestry have added the 1921 census to their online collections. Until now this has been exclusively available through Find My Past and if you don't subscribe, it can be accessed through the Ancestry Institution edition used in Cheshire Libraries.

1921 census on Ancestry 

Our latest stories shared

We are telling the story of the Cheshire's archives: a story shared project, with a dedicated blog covering everything from activities and events, to behind-the-scenes preparation of collections for their big move. Archives in Action: Tasting history reviews a fabulous food storytelling activity we held with Hoole Young Chefs – you can download recipe sheets and see what the children got up to.

The Collections Story: Feeling positive about negatives is about work we’re doing on our photographic collections. Ahead of the relaunch of #MysteryImageMonday, discover what we’ve done so far – and we reveal some of our favourite images.