Permanent archive for village thanks to Lottery
A VILLAGE in East Staffordshire will have a permanent archive of its history and heritage thanks to a lottery grant.
Members of the Alrewas Arts Festival Committee are celebrating after learning they have scooped £24,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The money will be used by the volunteers to set up the Alrewas Archive which will look to preserve historical landmarks and information for generations to come.
Chairman Paula Dumolo said, “We are thrilled at being awarded this funding for the archive.
“We’ve had enormous support from other organisations in the village and we are all looking forward to working together on this exciting project.
“This is a place where the past, present and future of the village can be preserved.
“This project will focus on four main areas — places, education, employment and recreation.
“This is just the beginning of a long and very exciting journey.”
The project will allow people of all ages to gather oral histories from people across the village.
A film entitled ‘Alrewas at Work Rest and Play’ and a book of the same name will be produced and given free to every household in the village.
Now funding has been granted, the project is under way and is expected to be completed in time for the fourth Alrewas Arts Festival in August 2012.
Anne Jenkins, head of Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands, said: “This project will create a people’s archive of the village and its history giving the local community a real stake in their heritage and creating something for them to pass down to succeeding generations.”
The archive will compile hundreds of years of Alrewas’s history and will allow for a central vault, for all of the many memories, stories, photographs and artefacts which exist in the village.
For more information or to get involved visit www.alrewas-archives.co.uk
