The National Archives (TNA), the official archive and publisher for the UK government and guardians of over 1,000 years of iconic national documents, has a long-running relationship with DeepStore, the UK’s largest underground storage company.
This has resulted in the building of a new TNA repository within DeepStore, which will house a further 41,000 boxes of material containing historical paper records and will increase the TNA holding in Winsford to over 40 linear kilometres of items in storage.
DeepStore’s relationship with TNA began in 2003, when the company began storing a wide range of items of significant historical interest under tightly controlled environmental conditions complying with PD 5454 requirements and being naturally free from ultraviolet light, vermin and flooding.
Craig Trimby, DeepStore’s head of sales, said: “The mine, which is 150 metres below ground, is perfect for storing historical documents and archives as it has consistent temperature and humidity levels. The new repository means that there is plenty of space for more records as the TNA’s collections continue to grow.”
DeepStore created the underground storage facility from the space left following the extraction of millions of tons of rock salt in Britain’s largest salt mine. The mine is owned and managed by parent company, Compass Minerals®.
The National Archives are amongst over 1,000 private and public sector DeepStore clients including Costain, MOLA, the Royal Society, SOAS and Wellcome Trust.
