Seven Stories

What?

• Situated in a converted warehouse in the regeneration area of Ouseburn Valley near Newcastle, the Seven Stories Centre for Children’ Books is an interactive museum of children’s literature
• The Valley was previously an industrial hub, hosting iron foundries, glass works, potteries and mills. After their decline, small businesses began investing in the area, and a regeneration trust was set up
• The Centre collects and records children’s books and the creative process involved in making them
• It is the only place in the UK which is actively collecting original artwork by British writers and illustrators – a vital part of our literary heritage
• The project aims to make the collection accessible to as wide an audience as possible - school children participating in programmes, families visiting exhibitions and researchers visiting from around the world
• Seven Stories encourages involvement by children from backgrounds where traditionally there has been little participation. The Centre aims to spark the children’s interest in reading and writing by bringing the whole process to life, and young visitors are encouraged to return with their families

When?

• The Seven Stories charity was started in 1996 to create the collection.
• The centre, which was built to house the collection was opened to the public on 19 August 2005 by children’s author Jacqueline Wilson

How?

• In 1996 The Seven Stories project was established as a charity when its founding directors, Elizabeth Hammill and Mary Briggs, created an ambitious plan to draw together a collection of manuscripts, sketches, finished artwork and books that document the work of contemporary British authors and illustrators for children
• With the support of numerous public and private funders, the charity was able to purchase a former flour warehouse, an impressive Grade II listed building, in the Ouseburn Valley. Earmarked as a designated regeneration area, the Valley was seen as an ideal location for the project
• The project cost £6.5 million, with funding received from the Arts Council England; North East; Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF); the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); Newcastle City Council; One North East via Tyne and Wear Partnership; the Northern Rock Foundation; Barbour Trust; Walker Books; Robert Westall Charitable Trust; Trusthouse Charitable Trust; Foyle Charitable Trust; HarperCollins; a number of private donations and support from Newcastle Gateshead Initiative’s cultural programme

Summary

• By May 2006 the Centre had attracted over 50,000 people in its first ten months, a figure organisers expect to rise to 80,000 per year
• Seven Stories has won several awards for innovation and regeneration
• Elizabeth Hammill and Mary Briggs have both been recognised for their work at the centre by the award of Honorary Doctor of Civil Law degrees
• The project has contributed to the community-led regeneration of the Valley’s emergence, creating one of the most distinctive cultural quarters of the area