Features

The Carnegie Heritage Centre is based in a converted library near the gates of the city’s West Park.

The building was built in 1905, funded by a donation from multi-millionaire industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The Scottish born philanthropist made his fortune in steel-making, after emigrating to the USA as a child in 1848. The Hull library was one of over 600 built in the UK, funded by Carnegie’s money.

The centre's interior

The library was closed in 2001 and was occupied on and off by local groups. In April 2006 the council decided to dispose of the property.

According to the Chair of the Carnegie Heritage Team, Liz Shepherd, locals wanted the building to remain in community use:

“We had the vision of maybe a brewery or something coming in and taking it over; which we didn’t want, the residents in the area didn’t want that. So we had a public meeting and had a discussion about what we would like to see the building used for.”

Liz Shepherd: Chair of the centre's trust

The trust was formed and took a 25-year lease on the property.  It reopened on January 1st 2008 as a local and family history research centre.

It offers formal courses and drop-in sessions, providing help and resources for people wanting to trace their family tree and other aspects of local history research.

The centre has a range of books and other research material. A lot of the archives come from the now defunct pioneering Hull College Local History Unit run by Chris Ketchell.

The trust is aiming to publish a book a year to help raise funds. They are also looking to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a further injection of cash.

The centre relies on volunteers to help people with their research work. This informal approach is one of the strengths of the centre according to Liz Shepherd.
“Hopefully we’ve got a friendly atmosphere here and people will fell welcomed when they come in.”