In 2011 our premises underwent a major refurbishment with the aims of making it easier for us to host group visits and to showcase our holdings and to generally improve the environment for visitors and staff.
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As a result, we acquired flexible lecture and exhibition areas with a range of up-to-date audio-visual and display equipment. Our entrance, reception area and reading room were redesigned and re-equipped, as were our own working areas, where vital behind-the-scenes tasks like cataloguing and digitisation are carried out.
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  To celebrate the completion of the refurbishment, an afternoon tea was held at the House of Lords in June 2011.
Professor Sir George Bain (left), one of the founders of the Centre in 1973, gave the key speech in which he described the Centre's past and present achievements.
Current and former members of the Advisory Board, former archivists and a number of trade union leaders attended.
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On 1 November 2011 the official re-opening of the refurbished Centre was marked by a lively and well-attended discussion at Warwick Arts Centre on the 'Winter of Discontent' of 1978-1979, and the possibility of an 'Autumn of Discontent' in 2011.
The participants on the platform were the Right Honourable Tony Benn, former Cabinet Minister and Labour Party MP, and Sir Richard Lambert, Chancellor of the University of Warwick and former Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
The chairman was Rodney Bickerstaffe, former General Secretary of Unison and a long-standing supporter of the Centre.
For more on the debate, see Warwick's Knowledge Centre website.
Afterwards, during a reception at the Centre addressed by Professor Nigel Thrift, the Vice-Chancellor, and Lady Warwick, the chair of our Advisory Board, Mr Benn cut the ceremonial ribbon.
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