Brass Band Archive still in safe hands

Leading press photographer Lorne Campbell paid a visit to Brass Bands England (BBE) this week to capture some images of artefacts from the former Brass Band Archive, currently in storage at the organisation’s headquarters in Barnsley.

Pictured studying some of the historical documents and notable instruments in the collection is BBE’s Partnership and Relationship Development Manager Alex Parker, who commented: “It’s now two years since the Brass Band Archive had to leave its previous premises in Wigan, and in that time we have been actively investigating the best way for this fascinating collection to get back on public display.”

Alex continued: “There are over 8,000 sets of brass band music, countless historic programmes and photographs, plus a vast array of other artefacts in the collection, but every single one of them needs careful examination before it can all be available for the banding public again and that requires considerable resources. BBE is currently exploring various funding sources and we are in discussion with several institutions in order to find a suitable home for it all. Like nearly everything else, Covid-19 has unfortunately delayed the process somewhat, which is frustrating for everyone.”

“Hopefully there will be some real progress soon,” said Alex. “Apart from anything else we would like half of our office space back, but we realise how important material like this is to many people and we’re exploring every avenue to get the Brass Band Archive back to full operation as soon as possible.”