Explore Your Archive

The WGC Heritage Trust & the WGC Library Local Studies Collection invite people to delve into their treasure trove!

As part of the Explore Your Archive campaign, which begins on Saturday 16 November, WGC Heritage Trust & WGC Library Local Studies Collection are encouraging people to take the time to visit their archives and to discover what these contain.

The Explore Your Archive campaign is encouraging everyone to discover the stories, the facts, the places and people that are at the heart of our communities. Archives across the UK and Ireland are taking part to raise awareness of the value of archives to society and of the rich variety of content that is held, preserved and made available to users.

WGC Library Local Studies Collection will be hosting an event at WGC Library, The Campus, WGC taking place on Saturday 16th November from 10am – 3pm. Find out how to access material from the collection – photos, maps, documents, journals and paper cuttings. The WGC Heritage Trust will have material on display including items relating to it’s current Where Do You Think We Worked? project looking into the industrial history of WGC and local photographer Ken Wright will also have a display of some of the many photographs he has taken during his time working for the WGC and Hatfield Development Corporations (which would become the Commission for New Towns). The photograph above is one of Ken's pictures and it shows the tree covered site on which Campus West and the current WGC Library will be built!

The WGC Heritage Trust archive and the WGC Library Local Studies Collection contain a wealth of material relating to the history and development of Welwyn Garden City. For example the Trust holds a collection of over 160 oral history recordings that capture the memories of people who have lived and worked in the town, it also holds documents and photographs many of which have been donated by residents past and present.

“Visiting an archive can take you on an adventure – you may end up discovering much more than you imagined. Archives are full of fascinating content to read, touch and explore. And it isn’t available from Google. Take time to explore archives – whether you’re interested in fashion, sport, food or UFOs, there will be something to inspire you in archives.”