Current projects

Grants awarded 2023

You can find more information below, about the scoping grants we have awarded in 2023.

Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo is a world-leading conservation charity, driving progress towards a future where nature can not only survive, but thrive, inspiring millions with its passion for protecting their planet. The zoo was opened in 1931 by founder George Mottershead and has grown into a conservation powerhouse working all over the world to prevent extinction, and one of the UK’s most popular attractions.

The zoo’s rich and varied collection of records dates back to its beginnings. It includes images of visitors entering the zoo for the very first time, animal records and scientific research papers, and even a picture of a giraffe that featured in the Guinness Book of World Records in the 1960s for being the tallest ever recorded.

To date, nobody has been able to access this collection, but it holds significant potential to benefit a diverse range of audiences – including local supporters, academics, other zoos, and visitors. Staff at the zoo say they are therefore delighted to have been awarded the Archives Revealed Scoping Grant by the National Archives to enable critical expert input to help determine the best methods for cataloguing and preserving this diverse collection for years to come.

Karen Grant, the zoo’s Information Governance Manager, is leading an ambitious project to unearth the hidden treasures from the zoo’s history. Karen said: “This wonderful collection represents an outstanding example of a zoo archive but, without care and control, it may forever remain unseen. We’re therefore thrilled this Archives Revealed Scoping Grant will help us on our journey towards preserving our archive and making it accessible to everyone. The zoo means so much to so many and evokes strong personal memories – it’s important we can preserve and put a spotlight on these to ensure the rich stories of times gone by at the zoo stay alive.” 

London School of Jewish Studies

Dating back to the nineteenth century and once recognised as the best Judaica collection in England, the collections of LSJS contain around 70,000 items of Anglo-Jewish History, modern academic interest, rare and historic items, and a fascinating collection of ephemera. The library has been in decline recently, and the collection is ageing and in need of conservation and preservation.  Their regeneration and modernisation project is well underway but this scoping project will kickstart the overwhelming task of assessing and prioritising their conservation needs, helping us on the path back to full strength.

This grant will support and empower their team in the planning and implementation of this next phase, furthering their progress and helping us on the path towards their vision of a modern, fit for purpose library service, which would raise their profile and further their mission as the ‘Jewish education people’.

Northumberland Archives

Northumberland Archives is delighted to have been awarded an Archives Revealed Scoping Grant to allow an assessment of the papers of Dickson, Archer & Thorp, solicitors, of Alnwick. For more than 10 years, Northumberland Archives has worked to bring together papers of this important solicitors practice, some of which have been disseminated across the world. Much of this has been achieved by external fundraising. The scoping grant will allow them to move a step nearer to making the collection accessible. They will engage a consultant to make a thorough assessment of the collection and calculate the resource required to develop an ISAD(G) compliant web-based catalogue and the skill sets necessary to achieve this. The consultant’s report will form the basis of future fundraising activity and will identify possible funding sources. The report will consider the collection’s potential for academic and non-academic research, family and community history and schools’ education and outreach activity.