A new £8.7m research and archive facility is due to open next month, council bosses have announced.

Staffordshire History Centre, on Eastgate Street in Stafford, will open on 6 November.

The local authority said the centre would be open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 to 16:00.

It would include modern search rooms, strong rooms for archives and collections as well as a bright space for displays and exhibitions, the council added.

The new centre was part-funded by a grant of £4.8m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

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Staffordshire History Centre will combine three collections from the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service, Staffordshire County Museum and the William Salt Library.

Visitors will be able to access archives and artefacts from the county’s past – while a new education and learning space will host schools, workshops and events.

A programme of activities and touring exhibitions will also take history into local communities across the county.