Campaign meeting approves plan

Last night (Tuesday January 23), The Bury Society held the meeting at the Guildhall to discuss the next steps in the campaign to keep archives in this part of Suffolk, working closely with Bury St Edmunds Town Trust and other local interest groups and individuals. This campaign is also supported by the Bury Free Press.

The meeting was invite only but well attended by people representing a range of disciplines, including history, archiving, archaeology and education in Bury St Edmunds and across West Suffolk. Councillors from West Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council were also present. It was chaired by Martyn Taylor (Chair of Bury Society), assisted by Terry O’Donaghue (Secretary Bury Society), with John Popham (Bury St Edmunds Town Trust) who has been talking to Suffolk County Council.

All those present were very concerned with the proposed change in location of the archives to The Hold in Ipswich, which would mean the loss of the Suffolk Records Office (SRO) in Bury St Edmunds. The Records Office, as it is known locally, is an important amenity of Bury St Edmunds, housing thousands of documents including a wonderful collection called the Cullum Library, bequeathed to the town. The meeting discussed that there may be legal reasons why the archives should stay in the town. The Bury Psalter – a musical manuscript produced in the 15th century for the monks at the Abbey of St Edmund – is one of the key items in the collection. The local owners of that manuscript are against any removal from the town

The opportunities for study either by professional or amateur would be severely limited if the archives were moved, not everyone can drive and public transport is haphazard to say the least. Another issue discussed was whether equalities legislation might be used to keep the archives local to West Suffolk.

Digitisation is put forward as a way that more people can access the archives, but this will not happen overnight and many older people are not comfortable with technology. It was also pointed out that researchers need to see the original document, not digital copies, to achieve a full set of objectives.

There are many other reasons why the archives should not move out of Bury St Edmunds. Young people would lose the opportunity for study locally. People from Newmarket and other parts of West Suffolk would be disadvantaged as much as those from Bury St Edmunds. The Abbey of St Edmund Partnership and local museums would suffer if the archives were moved.

West Suffolk Council again offered space at their Western Way buildings to house the archives along the lines of a previous agreement with Suffolk County Council. The original agreement involved a larger development which has been abandoned, but space is still available.

A submission was considered and overwhelmingly approved at the meeting. The short time frame before the Suffolk County Council meeting on February 15, means that no real investigation of alternative solutions can take place unless a decision about the archives is delayed. It is understood that the County Council need to approve their budget in February but this represents less than 1% of that total. If a delay on this one element, i.e. the archives, can be secured then the next step would be to set up a working party to investigate alternatives. John Popham will meet Councillor Bobby Bennett (Suffolk County Council Portfolio Holder) very soon to discuss these proposals.