Behind The Scenes Tour

Hull History Centre is opening its doors for a Behind The Scenes Tour on Saturday 7 November, with a second date on Saturday 21 November. It's a guided walk through the strongrooms and conservation areas of the centre, the parts of the building that usually stay closed to the public.

Most of us only ever see the front end of the History Centre — the reading room and the exhibits on display. This tour takes you past those and into the strongrooms, where the bulk of the city's archives are kept, and into the conservation areas where the staff work on preserving them. It's a look at the side of the place that stays behind closed doors, the storage and the upkeep that happens out of sight.

If you've spent any time in the reading room, you've probably wondered where the boxes come from when you request a file; this is a chance to see exactly where they're housed. You'll get to see the strongrooms themselves, the rows of shelving that hold the city's records, and the conservation areas where the actual work of looking after them takes place. It's a straightforward tour of the building's inner workings, with the focus on the storage and the preservation side of things.

There are two dates to choose from: Saturday 7 November and Saturday 21 November, both at Hull History Centre.