The Sutherland Papers are the single most important archive collection relating to past life in Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent.

The Archive Service is now delighted to announce that this collection has been saved for the County of Staffordshire and the Nation. The future of the collection at the Staffordshire Record Office is secure. A full list of donors can be found under Fund Raising News.

Two and a half years ago, ‘Saving Sutherland’ seemed to be an impossible task to achieve. Very many people have contributed in all kinds of ways to help us to get to this point. To all of them we would like to say thank you.

After April 1st the Archive Service will begin work on an exciting enhancement and access project for collection. This is a condition of our major grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project is for two years and will:

Research and develop a new online learning resource for the Sutherland Papers, exploring and interpreting the wealth of information contained in the collection;

• Provide a series of public study days around the County focusing on differing aspects of the collection;

• Research and develop a travelling exhibition programme which will visit a wide range of local community venues

• Offer plenty of opportunities for volunteer working on the collection.

Saving Sutherland has been a real collaborative effort. Thank you again.