Can you help make Potton History Society’s 40th birthday a special one? They’ve had to put their archive of the town’s heritage into storage for more than a year – and they need another £15,000 to fund its new home.
The Potton Archive was started by its founding secretary, Patricia Yates, shortly after its genesis in 1977 – and it soon outgrew her bungalow
It was based at The Stables from 1994 until a year ago, when it went into storage – but the society now plans a 45-square-metre annexe to the town’s Mill Lane Pavilion.
The group behind this plan includes Peter Ibbett, who has been with the society ever since it began – and told the Comet that the archive must be one of the largest collections created by any small history society.
It includes nearly 200 photographic albums with about 9,000 photographs, from the 1880s to 2015 – all now digitised for community access – six filing cabinets of indexed material, and digitised scrapbooks from 1970 to 2016.
The history society is paying for the costs of the planning process out of its own funds – and Peter said Potton Town Council, which leases the building, is sympathetic to helping the history society find a lasting home for the archives.
“We have a substantial grant from Potton Consolidated Charities towards the project, and a smaller one from the William Delafield Charitable Trust,” he said.
“Formal tendering has taken place, and the project could be complete this autumn if the society can obtain an additional £15,000 by the end of April.
“This project would enable 40 years of work to have a lasting home for future generations of Pottonians to enjoy and add to.”
To find out more about the society and how you can get involved, see pottonhistorysociety.org.uk or find Potton History Society on Facebook.
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