THE winning design has been announced for a new archive room to showcase Croome Court’s extensive historic records.

The brief was to display records "in imaginative and surprising ways".

A spokesman said: "Two shortlisted designs have been on display during the summer at Croome, near Worcester, with visitors being encouraged to share their thoughts to help choose the final winner.

“Both proposals that we received were strong, which made it incredibly hard for us to choose.”

The spokesman added: “It was a difficult decision as the final scores were extremely close. Winning the competition by a 2% margin was 'I Am Archive'. This is the first time these individuals will have worked together on a project of this scale which embodies what we are aiming to do here at Croome.

"Like the 6th Earl of Coventry, during the 18th century, we are providing a platform for this fledgling practice to launch from. From the offset this group impressed us with their energy and enthusiasm for the project. I am looking forward to working more closely with them over the coming months.”

The spokesman said the new archive room project was "not about recreating the Croome archive or even providing access to all of it".

The spokesman said: "Instead, Croome seeks to create an imaginative and stimulating experience for visitors to explore what archives are all about, why Croome’s archive is so important and to help visitors reflect on their own archive in life."

The winning design has been created by a team made up of Elena Thatcher, Ruth Hall and Max Jones.

The group are a mix of theatre designers and architects "who have proposed a really exciting response as they have drawn on their experiences of set and design".

Over the next few months Croome we will be working closely with the group to develop their proposal for installation in 2017.

Visitors can see the scale model of the winning design on the first floor of the house and now being encouraged to get involved with the next step, to decide what stories will be told when ‘I Am Archive’ is installed next year.

Further information on 01905 371006 or visit the website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/croome