The Vintage Technology Centre

When we moved from the Museum in the centre of Chester during 2000, work was only just starting on the new premises at Hawarden, a few miles outside Chester. The site had been purchased, but delays due to planning permission etc. had extended the time before work could start. It was formerly a funeral parlour, with chapels of rest, workshop and offices. It had been empty for years, and was in poor condition. The first job was to renew the roof, then the entire interior was stripped out and refitted to our specification.

The work was mainly undertaken (no pun intended) by Gaz and his team from Manchester, who did such great work on the Museum back in 1994.

The pictures give some idea of the work involved, but unless you saw it before we started, you won't really know what a transformation has been achieved.

We held a special Open Day on Saturday, 21st April 2001, where those involved with On The Air over the years were invited to come and celebrate the opening, along with some of our friends, business associates and customers. It was a very pleasant day, and a good start to the new venture was made with the sale of an especially rare item, a green Ekco AD65. It was on display in the showroom, and attracted a great deal of interest.

The offices.

Part of the workshop.

Part of the main storeroom.

Before work started the building was a depressing sight, with water leaking through the roof and the floor covered in old shrouds, pieces of coffin and other unpleasant rubbish.