You are in: Churchill College » Archives Centre » About Us
Churchill Archives Centre: New Wing Appeal (Update)
The Archives Centre has been a victim of its own success in attracting important new collections of papers from the Churchill era and beyond. Recent high profile accessions, such as the papers of Baroness Thatcher, Neil Kinnock and Sir Frank Whittle, have filled the existing strongroom areas. Construction of a new extension plus refurbishment work in the original building has now finished.
A site adjacent to the current strongroom was identified as suitable for a four-storey extension to provide additional storage capacity to enable the Centre to continue collecting papers, and to continue to develop further its cultural and educational mission in the 21st century. Sir John Boyd, Master of Churchill College, launched an appeal in 1998 for £4.6 million to fund the costs of constructing this new wing and provide for its permanent endowment.
From the outset Baroness Thatcher gave the appeal her full support and the Centre is grateful for her very generous assistance to the project. Her name and the names of other donors are recorded in perpetuity on a band of carved stone running along the length of the new wing.
Sir Denis Thatcher presided at a turf cutting ceremony on Thursday 19 July 2001 to mark the beginning of the construction work. The building contractor, Llewellyn's, began work on site at the beginning of August 2001.
The Archives Centre now benefits from a lift, providing full disabled access from the Jock Colville Hall to the reading rooms, and has improved washroom facilities. Further refurbishment took place in the public areas in August 2002, and behind the scenes the Centre enjoys upgraded fire, security and air conditioning systems.
Please feel free to contact us with any queries you may have.
Exterior impression of the new wing. Copyright: tcc architects, June 2001
The new wing was designed to the highest specifications and is protected by sophisticated smoke, fire and burglar alarms. The papers inside the wing are housed in an environment that has tightly controlled humidity and temperature levels.
It is still possible to contribute to preserving a documentary heritage of greatness. Please make your cheque payable to the "Churchill College Archives Extension Fund" and send it to the Bursar, Churchill College, Cambridge CB3 0DS. The Bursar will be happy to provide more details and supply information about other methods of giving.
Telephone: (01233) 336121Fax: (01233) 336177
email: Bursar@chu.cam.ac.uk