A FILM archive cataloguing more than 100 years of history has re-opened to the public.

The Yorkshire Film Archive at the Fountains Learning Centre premises in York St John College were opened on Wednesday.

It is open to the public and academic researchers, who will all be able to make appointments to view the footage from Monday.

The archive was initially based at Ripon, but it has spent two years in temporary accommodation at the college. Its new facilities have been paid for by the Heritage Lottery fund and regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

More than 4,000 films, some dating back to 1897, are stored in the archive. They include footage of a range of subjects, including family life, crafts, local industries, leisure activities and traditions.

Records of the collection are stored on a computer database, which details the date, place and subject of each item.

Among the facilities is a video and film viewing area.

Archive director Sue Howard said: "This is fantastic because it means that we get the best possible facilities for the region's film collections and also we have more staff and more facilities to make these film collections accessible to different audiences.

"In order to use the public access viewing room, people do have to be quite specific about what they want to see, simply because we have so much film."

Staff from the archive also visit community groups across Yorkshire.

The archive specialises in the assessment and repair of film.

All acquired material, which consists of film produced by professional and amateur film-makers is copied on to video tape and documented.

Published: 23/01/2004