Thursday September 12th through to Sunday September 15th were designated Heritage Open Days throughout the country . Manchester’s rich building heritage was on show and the Archives+ team were involved in supporting some of the organisations involved.
On Friday 13th we were at St Thomas’ Church in Ardwick, now home to the Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation
St Thomas’ Church was open to the public and a range of organisations were represented there.There was a film show from the North West Film Archive, stalls featuring the work of local history groups, a tour of Ardwick Green and lovely tea and cake! Not to mention a sing song!
Withington Library hosted a Civic Society talk and walk for Heritage Open Days on Sunday 15th, and we were able to take some original material relating to the official opening of the present library building in May 1927 as well as a visitor book and press statement from October 1911.
Coincidentally on a weekend when many doors were opening, one significant door was closing. The Marshall Street building that has been home to the Greater Manchester County Record Office since the mid-1980s is now closed to the public. The next few months will be spent moving the archive to its new home in the refurbished Central Library. The doors will be flung open to welcome the public in Spring 2014.
