The Hull History Centre is an archive and local studies library in Hull, England, that houses the combined collections of both the Hull City Council and Hull University archives and local studies resources. This collaboration between Hull City Council, Hull University, and the Heritage Lottery Fund made Hull the first city in the UK to unite local council and university collections under one roof. Background Before the creation of the Hull History Centre, Hull's archives were kept at three separate repositories: the University of Hull, the Local Studies Library, and the Hull City Archives. The partnership that led to the purpose-built history centre in Hull began nearly ten years ago, springing out of a desire to provide greater accessibility to, and better preservation facilities for, the archives. Plans began to develop between Hull City Council and the University of Hull, and ultimately the Heritage Lottery Fund made the dream a reality by providing the Hull History Centre with a £7.7 million grant, the largest ever lottery grant for a UK archive project. Building for the centre began in late 2007 and on 25 January 2010, the Hull History Centre was finally opened to the public. The building itself was designed by architectural firm Pringle Richards Sharratt with the goals of providing a highly accessible and visible structure, as well as a focus of local pride. The design of the upper floor features an environmentally controlled repository while the ground level features public spaces adjoined by a linear arcade overlooking a new park. Collections The Hull History Centre houses the combined archives of Hull City Council and the University of Hull, along with other various local studies resources. The collections include the standard books, volumes, and documents, as well as maps, paintings, pamphlets, photos, and film. If lined up end to end, the History Centre's collections would cross the local 2,220-metre long Humber Bridge four times. Main Collections University Collections The University Collections are made up of about 750,000 documents consisting of around 200 organisations, individuals, and families. The range includes: Pressure group records: including Liberty (formerly The National Council for Civil Liberties), Union of Democratic Control, and Justice Modern political papers: including John Prescott, Kevin McNamara, Austin Mitchell, Chris Mullin, Sir Patrick Wall, and Jock Haston Modern English literary manuscripts: including Philip Larkin, Douglas Dunn, Archie Markham, and Alan Plater Landed family and estate archives: including Hotham of South Dalton,