BEVERLEY – The Champney Treasure House reopened in December 2024 after a £3.3 million redevelopment. Eight months on, it is the staff and volunteers on Champney Road who have turned a polished building into a living one.
On any given morning the library is busy with parents in the children’s corner, teenagers using the computers, and pensioners swapping books at the desk. “It feels brighter and friendlier,” said one regular visitor. “The staff make it welcoming — it’s not just a place to borrow books, it’s a place to spend time.”
The figures back this up. The library has seen more than 68,000 visits since January, with around 10,000 of those made through the new extended-hours “Library Now” system. The archives have welcomed more than 750 registered visitors, supported by tours for history groups ranging from the Bridlington Augustinian Society to the Pocklington U3A.
The Tourist Information Centre, now relocated into the building, has seen an extraordinary 477 per cent increase in customer engagements compared with last spring. “People tell us they’re glad it’s still staffed,” said one TIC assistant. “So many towns have lost their centres, but here we can still look someone in the eye and help them.”
“We’ve got families coming down from the gallery, older couples after the library, tourists after advice — it feels like a proper community space.”
The café team have been equally busy. In six months they have poured more than 330,000 cups of tea — 6,000 more than the same period in 2023 — and served nearly 1,800 toasted teacakes. “It’s not just about sales,” one worker explained. “We’ve got families coming down from the gallery, older couples after the library, tourists after advice — it feels like a proper community space.”
The art gallery has been refreshed with new displays and bold deep-blue walls. Exhibitions such as Egypt in Yorkshire sold out their talks, and family events like Brick History drew almost 300 participants. “I’ve lived here all my life and never thought of coming until this year,” said a visitor from Molescroft. “Now it feels like a place that belongs to us.”
The Welcome Day earlier this year summed up the shift. More than 500 people visited the library, 332 toured the museum and gallery, and children crowded around tables to make friendship bracelets or follow the treasure trail. Fifty-one couples even walked through the new registry office to imagine their weddings there.
There have been frustrations. Some users have struggled with Library Now entry cards, and a few question whether tourists will always find the TIC tucked inside the building. But the council points to the figures as proof the project is working. A spokesperson told the Beverley Review: “The Champney Treasure House has quickly become a vibrant cultural centre, drawing in families, researchers, tourists and community groups.”
For taxpayers, the signs are encouraging: higher footfall, stronger café revenues, more events and better use of the building. For Beverley, it is evidence that cultural investment can deliver. And for the staff on Champney Road, it is a daily vindication of their work. As one librarian put it: “We’ve been given the tools, but it’s the people who make this place come alive.”