Federation Of Family History Societies

Brighton History Centre – ePetition

We have just learned of another local history centre which is threatened with closure.  Please see the petition at http://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=83&RPID=228217 for further details.  It would be good to see a sharp increase in the number of people supporting this move to resist closure of a valuable resource.

We are informed that if this Family History Centre closes in March as proposed, local historians - and those further afield who rely on them for look-ups, could lose access to (among many other things):

• an unrivalled local Sussex newspaper archive reaching back to the 18th Century
• the complete national birth, death and marriage indexes
• electoral rolls stretching back to the 19th Century
• free access to the Ancestry Online databases
• an unrivalled collection of historic maps of Brighton and Sussex
• a fantastic collection of local Brighton and Sussex residential and trade directories
• the expert assistance of the Centre staff whose jobs will disappear if the Centre closes in March.

Roger Lewry
FFHS Archives Liaison

30 December 2009