Kays Heritage Collection needs to find a new home

The future of some of the Kays Heritage Collection was thrown into doubt after a decision to destroy an old university building where it has been stored.

Bernard Mills, of the Kays Heritage Group, said he was told a new home would be needed for the archive, which he has been collecting for years. 

However, the University of Worcester and Worcestershire County Council have said they intend to work with Mr Mills to find a new location.

The collection has been housed partly at the University of Worcester's St John's campus and partly at the Hive but the storage at the university will no longer be available because the building, built during the first world war, is set to be knocked down. 

READ MORE: Memories of Kays in Worcester

Bernard Mills, of the Kays Heritage Group. (Image: Bernard Mills)

When he was first told, Mr Mills said: "I was incredibly upset and frustrated as Kays is part of the fabric of Worcester.

"To have all of these archives wasted and needlessly destroyed would be such a shame but I do not have the resource or the money to store it elsewhere and I am not getting any younger.

"It ripped the soul out of me when I was told. It needs a home otherwise I will be forced to destroy it all."

Mr Mills worked for Kays from 1973 to 2003, and now owns the trademark for the name and all of the archives.

A University of Worcester spokesperson said: “The archive of Kay & Co Ltd, owned by the Kays Heritage Group, is a valuable resource, offering an insight into twentieth-century living and useful for research into cultural and social history, fashion and design as well as business, economic and manufacturing history.

“The University and County Council, working together through the Hive Library and Archive, have been helpful and supportive to the local Heritage Group in keeping this collection together.

“The collection here is wholly inaccessible to the public and this has only ever been a storage facility rather than a proper accessible archive.

“This building is very energy inefficient and currently accounts for well over 10 per cent of the University's annual carbon dioxide emissions.

“The building is scheduled to close this summer."

The university said officers of the county council and university had been in discussion about the collection’s proper re-location and had corresponded with Mr Mills and were waiting for a reply.

They added: "The university and county council’s continuing intention is that, through working together with the owner of the collection, a suitable location for the collection will be found.”

Worcestershire County Council also said they were keen to find a solution. 

READ MORE: Nobody is bothered about Kays' heritage

Kays' headquarters in Worcester. (Image: Newsquest)

Kays was a major employer in Worcester, from the time W. Kilbourne Kay formed the company in 1890, until its closure in 2007.

It was announced in May 2006 that the warehouse operations at Worcester would close at the end of the year.

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On February, 23 2007, the warehouse operations at Worcester ceased and the staff left the site for the last time.