The Hold, Suffolk Archives | Visit East of England

Visit The Hold and discover the stories that are tucked within the pages of our archives.

This exciting new venue, which has been made possible thanks to a major multi-million-pound contribution from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, is a new kind of destination, Suffolk Archives’ collections can be shared in a whole host of new ways.

Discover a regularly changing programme of exhibitions in the gallery, as well as a whole range of archive inspired displays for visitors to explore for free.

Step into the building and be wowed by Valerie Irwin’s charcoal sketches at an enormous scale; these sketches run the full length of The Street and are a fascinating way to explore the changing face of Ipswich’s waterfront.

In the cafŽ, discover the recipe corner, with a rolling film of recipes from the archives and a place to share your own Ôfamily favourites’.

Don’t miss BBC Look East’s Kevin Burch reporting Ônews from the archives’ on the News Wall; from a trip in a hot air balloon in 1785, right up to Ipswich Town winning the local derby in 2009.

The hands on ÔReveal Wall’ display explores five different topics from the archives, with interesting recordings, photographs, models and even puzzles to find out more.

And if you have a little more time, why not delve deeper into the archives and explore one of the Ômini-galleries’ on the tablets outside the searchroom.

The Hold hosts everything from exhibitions to film screenings, family craft activities to escape rooms, talks, walks and lectures; check out the Suffolk Archives website to see what catches your eye.