Historic building in Brixton's cultural quarter to house community archives

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has today announced a £4million grant for the Black Cultural Archives (BCA). This significant award will help convert Raleigh Hall in Windrush Square, Brixton, into a permanent home for BCA's collection of historical material relating to black Britain and the African diaspora, as well as providing a much-needed educational resource for schools, students and the general public.

In addition to HLF's support, the London Borough of Lambeth has committed to a financial package of £600,000 until 2011, as well as gifting a 99-year lease for the currently derelict Grade II listed Raleigh Hall.

Kwame Kwei-Armah, actor, writer and broadcaster, said:

"This is great news! I've been a huge fan of the BCA since it was first set up in 1981 – it's a goldmine of information about black cultural identity in Britain. I'm looking forward to taking my children to Raleigh Hall and showing them how much they have to be proud of from their past and how much that past has influenced their lives today."

Over the past 27 years, BCA has been developing and documenting a unique record of the lives, history and heritage of people of African and African-Caribbean descent in the UK. There has always been a strong focus on community involvement and it is anticipated that once the archive is established in Lambeth, donations of important records of both contemporary and the 20th-century black experience will come from organisations, families and individuals. The current collection, which has limited public access, is predominantly post-1945 with a smaller number of items from before that time.

Carole Souter, Chief Executive at the Heritage Lottery Fund, said:

"The BCA's vision for a major black history and cultural centre has been a long-time in the making but worth the wait. And Raleigh Hall will make the perfect setting – a listed building with huge potential at the heart of Brixton - in which to properly celebrate the contribution of black Britons to our cultural, social, political and economic life."

The BCA collection numbers some 8,000 items, including: letters, notebooks and memorabilia relating to the Barbour-James3 family; an original bill of sale from 1843 with details of slaves to be sold on the auction block in England; an original score by the 19th-century musician and composer, Samuel Coleridge Taylor; and photographs of a range of prominent figures such as Sislin Fay Allen (1968), the first black woman to join the Metropolitan Police Force, and John Alcindor, the prominent 19th-century Paddington-based doctor. Raleigh Hall's re-development, which means the building will be removed from the 'At Risk' register4, Raleigh Hall's

The Barbour-James' were a middle-class Edwardian family - John Barbour-James was a civil servant transferred from British Guiana to British West Africa. He was a founding member of the League of Coloured People, a prominent writer, speaker and activist, specifically about black people in Britain maintaining strong links with Africa and ending imperialism on the continent.

re-development, which means the building will be removed from the 'At Risk' register4, also feeds into plans for the wider regeneration of Brixton’s cultural quarter. It is anticipated that it will be the 'jewel in the crown' of this iconic part of London alongside Lambeth Town Hall, the Tate Library, Brixton Academy and the Ritzy Cinema.

Paul Reid, Director of the Black Cultural Archives, said:

"This announcement is a major milestone achievement for people of African descent - we want to tell our stories from our own perspectives. We've worked so hard to get here and there's still a lot to do to reach our remaining fundraising target of £1.5millon. I'm confident that we will be able to achieve this and build a centre that we can all be proud of."

In addition to visiting the archives (admission will be free to both the permanent and temporary exhibition spaces), there will be a range of educational and training activities on offer at Raleigh Hall. A website portal that will showcase black heritage collections across the UK is also in the pipeline.

Councillor Steve Reed, Lambeth Council Leader, said:

"Brixton is popularly known as the African Caribbean capital of Britain and this proud history makes it fitting that the BCA should be permanently based here. Lambeth Council is delighted to support and honour the legacy and contribution of the original Windrush generation, their predecessors and descendents.

"We congratulate BCA on their achievements and we will continue to work in partnership with them to ensure this project is achieved."