Construction started in January 2009 and is scheduled to finish in March 2010.  This is slightly behind schedule but we have encountered unforeseen problems in the restoration of Lady Gillford’s House, and the complexities of the highly technical design for the archive storage facilities have needed care to resolve. The Cumbrian weather has also not been kind to us in recent months!

The restoration of Lady Gillford’s House is now complete.  The work on the new extension is mainly focused on internal work to install the mechanical and electrical systems.  Work on landscaping the grounds has started, particularly to create the formal garden at the south side of the site.

Once the construction is complete, the huge and daunting task of moving out of 4 sites in and around Carlisle and reopening the service at Petteril Bank will begin.  The Carlisle Record Office in The Castle is now closed on Fridays to enable staff to prepare for the relocation.  We have arrangements for alternative service delivery on Fridays.

At the moment, we cannot be precise about the timescale for relocation because we need to ensure the strongrooms have dried out to the right temperature and relative humidity to preserve the collections before we move anything in.  We will keep publishing information about progress, and give plenty of notice about changes for access to the archives when we start to move.  We are still aiming to open the new facility in the autumn of 2010.