The North West Sound Archive, founded in Manchester in 1979, was the largest archive of sound recordings in the UK outside of London, with over 140,000 items.[1] It was relocated to Clitheroe in 1982, where it occupied the third floor of the Clitheroe Castle Museum.[2] 53°52′13″N 2°23′35″W / 53.8702°N 2.3931°W It was closed in 2015 for financial reasons,[1] and its materials relocated to the Manchester Central Library, Liverpool Central Library, and the Lancashire Archives, according to the location to which the material related.[3][dead link]