Visitors and performers at the upcoming Yorkshire regional contest at Huddersfield Town Hall will have the chance to visit the national Brass Bands Archive, housed a short stroll away at the University of Huddersfield’s Heritage Quay site.
Heritage Quay, the University’s records and archive management facility, has housed the Brass Bands Archive since 2023, shortly after the collection was designated to Brass Bands England.
On Saturday 1 March from 11-4pm a special Archive open day will provide the opportunity to tour the archive, attend a pop-up exhibition and visit the research room.
The special pop-up exhibition will give an overview of key areas of brass band history as well as provide a viewing opportunity for significant items that make up the Archive. Item’s themselves will be available to view up-close in the research room, which will be open to the public from 11am-12.30pm and 1.30-3.30pm.
Pre-book an archive tour
30-minute tours of the Archive Strong Room will take place at 12.30pm and 3.30pm. Places are limited, so pre-booking is advised to avoid missing out. Please contact sue@bbe.org.uk to reserve a place.
Fundraising advice for heritage projects
Brass Bands England’s Fundraising Manager, Beth Lambert, will also be on-site providing free fundraising appointments.
Beth has had recent success working on heritage-centred fundraising projects with Burbage Band Buxton, and their ‘Burbage Works' project, documenting the band’s rich history with a unique live music performance, accompanied by audio-visual storytelling. The project also involved members of the band working directly with our Archivist to learn how to catalogue and store some of the artefacts they’ve collected during their long history.
Beth will be available to discuss your fundraising needs - your project doesn’t necessarily need to be heritage related. BBE members can contact sue@bbe.org.uk to book a 1:1 consultation with Beth, but you don’t need to be a member to come along for an informal chat about what support is available.
The Archive day will also provide an opportunity to speak to the BBE team about the latest opportunities and services available to support you and your band.
For details on getting to the Archive please visit the Heritage Quay visit us page.