Heritage Storage
Keeping your heritage collections and artefacts safe
Preserving precious heritage collections and artefacts requires more than just room, it needs a space that ensures long term protection and preservation. For this reason, we’ve built a heritage storage unit unlike any other.
Our units are purpose-built to protect culturally and historically significant items. We’ve transformed previous Air Force shelters into state-of-the-art storage units to offer maximum protection to your collections. This includes units that meet the highest industry standards, 24 hour security and advanced temperature control to protect against damp, mould and water damage.
Whether you’re a museum, archivist or university body, our facilities offer you peace of mind that your collections will be protected for years to come.
Our state-of-the-art heritage storage UK
Preserves your collections
We've carefully upgraded Air Force shelters to incorporate state-of-the-art temperature and humidity controls
Gives you peace of mind
National Conservation Service monitors our facilities to ensure ongoing compliance with BS 4971:2017 and BS EN 16893:2018
24/7 Tracking
Each artefact has a unique barcode, allowing precise tracking of its exact shelf location for efficient management.
Our specially trained teams minimise the need to directly handle your artefacts. They use only museum grade packing materials such as Acid-Free tissue, Plastazote® foam and Tyvek®, placing your artefacts in custom-built cases before transporting them directly to our facilities.
Take a tour of our heritage storage solutions
"‘In their heart of hearts, any museum curator really wants to keep all their collection with them."
Louisa Price, Curator at The Charles Dickens Museum
What type of heritage items and artefacts can I store?
Our heritage storage units are trusted by collectors, museums and university bodies. We take pride in securely storing everything from precious artefacts to historical documents.
Museums
Museums utilise our heritage storage for long term storage and preservation, including overflow storage or off-site preservation.Our trusted facilities and state of the art management mean that collections such as exhibitions or fragile artefacts stay safe and protected.
Universities and research institutions
Collections used for academic purposes, such as historical records or scientific specimens, often require trustworthy, accessible storage. We offer easy, secure access to collections while ensuring high standards of preservation for your assets.
Artefacts and antiquities
Objects with historical or cultural significance need the right environment to prevent them from degrading over time. Our storage units boast advanced temperature control that are designed to preserve items such as artwork, ceramics, manuscripts and silverware.
Private collections
From family heirlooms to private art collections, our customers trust us to protect items that have deep sentimental and historical value. You can rest assured that your precious valuables will maintain their condition while under lock and key.
Heritage facilities for artefact storage
When we came to designing our heritage storage facilities, where better than historical buildings that we could preserve while preserving your collections?
So we turned to former Air Force shelters, carefully upgrading these Cold War buildings to incorporate state-of-the-art temperature and humidity controls while preserving the original structures that were originally designed to withstand a 1000lb demolition bomb. Now our heritage asset management facilities house over 50,000 square feet of collections, protecting them against damp, mould, pests, floods, fire, and even bombs.
Peace of mind with our heritage asset management
To give you peace of mind, we work with the National Conservation Service (NCS) which monitors our facilities to ensure ongoing compliance with BS 4971:2017 and BS EN 16893:2018, so you know your collections are being kept in facilities of the highest standard.
We’ve taken every step to ensure the collections in our care are protected from unauthorised access too. Our facilities are monitored by 24-hour security, with every visitor escorted through the site and CCTV monitoring every vehicle that arrives. State-of-the-art intruder systems, coupled with high-security doors and locks, ensure that the only people with access to your collections are our expert team and you.
Partnering with National Conservation Service (NCS)
Our partnership with NCS means members receive direct access to heritage storage specialists who understand the unique needs of archives, collections, and rare materials. To store in our heritage storage facilities, customers must be a member of the NCS, if not already, we can help you make the simple steps to become one.
NCS has a network of qualified and dedicated conservators ready to design and carry out conservation projects on-site in your institution. For more information on NCS, you can visit them here.
“BS 4971:2017- and BS EN 16893:2018-compliant storage in an accessible location, in specially adapted buildings that are heritage monuments themselves, managed by an expert, helpful team and at rates geared to cash-strapped heritage organisations – it all added up to an enticing package.”
Adrian Holloway, Collections Manager at The Horniman Museum and Gardens
Accessing your artefacts
Each artefact in your collection is numbered and barcoded, which means that you can see the location of each one via the Restore Information Management Web Portal down to the shelf it sits on.
If you want an artefact delivered to you, or you want to add more to your collection, you can use the portal to arrange swift deliveries and pickups that come with full audit trails. Each vehicle in our fleet is GPS-tracked, so you can follow an item’s journey from our facilities to your site and back again.
Our case studies
Horiman Musuem and Gardens
Discover how the Horniman Museum transformed access to it's stored collections through Restore's Heritage Storage.
Find out moreThe Charles Dickens Museum
Find out how the Charles Dickens museum has improved access to it's vast, rare collections through support from Restore and the National Conservation Service.
Find out more
The Francis Crick Institute
Discover how we helped the Francis Crick Institute deal with a large volume of deliveries that needed secure storage and a robust audit trail.
Find out moreHeritage Storage – Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it’s simple to retrieve any item from your collection. You can do so through your online Restore Management Web Portal that you’ll be given access to when you sign up to storage with us.
Here, you can see all the items you’re storing with us, and be able to request to access them at a click of a button. Your requested items will then be loaded on to one of our GPS tracked delivery trucks, sent straight to your location of choice.
Alternatively, you can request a pick up of your items directly from the storage centre.
Each artefact you store with us will have a unique number and barcode, and you’ll be able to see the location of each one via the Restore Information Management Web Portal.
Through your online portal, you’ll be able to easily track all the items from your collection in storage and where it’s located, right down to the shelf it sits on.
Yes there is a difference between heritage and artefact storage, even though both share the same goal of preservation and conservation.
Heritage storage usually refers to the preservation of a variety of heritage items, such as documents, textiles and artworks, often having a focus on long term conservation.
Artefact storage is more specific, referring to the storage of archeological or historical objects. Both aim to protect these collections, but heritage storage has a broader scope.
We don’t have a limit on the amount of items you can store with us. We can accommodate collections of all sizes, but if you have any specific questions don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team.
