The Box celebrates National Archive Service Accreditation success
6 August 2026
The Box Plymouth is celebrating after successfully retaining Archive Service Accreditation – the UK-wide quality standard that recognises the high standards of care, preservation and public access provided by its archives team. Archive Service Accreditation is awarded against nationally agreed standards and acknowledges excellence in archive management, from governance and collections care to public engagement and accessibility.
The Box is responsible for more than 750,000 archival items. These include manuscripts dating back to the 12th century, nationally significant photographic collections that document Plymouth and the wider Southwest, and major moving image archives such as the Westward Television and Television South West Collection. As the regional film archive for the Southwest, it also safeguards moving image collections of exceptional historical and cultural importance.
Victoria Pomery, CEO of The Box, said:
Archives are at the heart of The Box and preserve the stories, memories and experiences that have shaped Plymouth and the wider region. Retaining our Archive Service Accreditation is a significant achievement and a wonderful recognition of the expertise, dedication and innovation of the team.
Since The Box opened in 2020, we’ve worked hard to make these remarkable collections more visible, accessible and relevant to a wide range of audiences. Through exhibitions, research, collaboration, artist commissions and more, they continue to inspire new connections with our shared heritage. We’re delighted that this important work has once again been recognised.
The former Plymouth and West Devon Record Office, which is now part of The Box, achieved Archive Service Accreditation in 2017. This latest assessment is the first to consider the full breadth of the archive collections which have also been joined by the former South West Film and Television Archive and South West Image Bank and covers both traditional paper archives and extensive media archive holdings.
In its report, the Archive Service Accreditation Panel praised The Box's commitment to public engagement and partnership working, noting that "access and engagement is central to the vision behind the creation of The Box" and describing its media archives as "among the best in the country". The panel also recognised the archive team's digital preservation work as "outstanding".