Behind the scenes at West Yorkshire History Centre

Described as a ‘once in a generation event’, the opening of the new West Yorkshire History Centre in early 2017 will allow visitors to interact with millions of records in many different ways. Rachel Bellerby took a trip behind the scenes at the new centre - you can watch her videos of her visit below, and read about how this major move of archive material has been achieved in her article in the September issue of Family Tree.

In less than six months, the brand new West Yorkshire History Centre will open its doors to the public. This is an exciting time for anyone with Yorkshire roots, as the 10 million records contained here cover nine centuries of the county’s history with court, hospital, police, property and civic records among the highlights.

For more than a year, staff at West Yorkshire Archives (WYAS) Wakefield and the West Riding Registry of Deeds have been preparing for this mammoth move, which will see more than 100,000 containers of archives transported from the old building into a brand new family history centre on the town’s Kirkgate, one of Wakefield’s oldest streets.

Don't forget to get your copy of the September issue of Family Tree for more about the service move. You can also follow the progress of the move on the WYAS website at www.archives.wyjs.org.uk; on Twitter: @wyorksarchives; and on Facebook: facebook.com/wyorksarchives.

Rachel Bellerby is the author of Tracing Your Yorkshire Ancestors and Tracing Your Leeds Ancestors (both Pen & Sword).