Catalyst, the university library on our Ormskirk campus. The archive is located on the ground floor © Edge Hill University Archive
Our Archive
Edge Hill University, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire. L39 4QP
Opening Hours: Monday – Thursday, 9am-5pm. By prior appointment only.
Accessibility Information: All car parking must be pre-booked. There are accessible spaces available by prior arrangement. The building which houses the archive has an accessible, ground floor entrance. The archive currently has no dedicated reading room, so a work-space will be pre-booked for researchers – ground floor, accessible spaces are available. There is also access to a café and toilets on the ground floor.
Edge Hill University archive repository © Edge Hill University Archive
Staff
Dan Copley, Archivist; Aimy Stevens, Archives Apprentice
What we collect
The Edge Hill University archive is the repository for the print and visual history of the institution from its foundation in 1885 to the present day. We also hold collections that support the teaching, learning and research interests of the university. Our archive currently has collections relating to film and television, midwifery and the First and Second World Wars.
Most Unusual Item
This gas lantern is believed to be the last surviving physical item from Edge Hill’s original building in Durning Road, Liverpool. The institution moved to Ormskirk, Lancashire, in 1933 and it is thought that this lantern was taken at that point as a memento. The old college had transitioned to electric light around 1900, so it seems likely that the lantern had already been unused for a number of years. The Durning Road site was completely destroyed by a direct bomb hit during the Liverpool Blitz in November 1940. It was the worst single incident in the Liverpool Blitz as regards loss of life. About 300 people were tightly packed into a shelter in the basement of the old college and 166 men, women and children were killed. The total destruction of the site makes the survival of this single gas lantern even more poignant and powerful.
Gas lantern, c. 1885 © Edge Hill University Archive