Somerset County Council’s new Heritage Centre opened its doors to the public on Monday 27 September. 

The Somerset Heritage Centre houses all the material formerly held at the Somerset Record Office, as well as the museum reserve collections, the Somerset Studies Library, the Historic Environment Record and much more.

The centre gives access to over 10 million historic documents and books and three million museum objects. There is also information on over 30,000 historic sites in Somerset. The strongrooms provide temperature and humidity-controlled environments for Somerset’s extraordinary collections of historical records, the earliest of which dates from the 8th century. 

The Somerset Heritage Centre will be open on Mondays from 1.00 pm until 5.00 pm, Tuesday to Friday from 9.00 am until 5.00 pm and on alternate Saturdays from 9.00 pm until 4.00 pm.  Visitors are advised to make an appointment and can telephone on 01823 278805.

Cllr Christine Lawrence, Cabinet Member for Community, said: “This is a wonderful new building, housing the sources of Somerset’s history under one roof. It will allow the public the public to learn about Somerset’s history and heritage as never before.”