A LOCAL history group will be digging into its village’s past after receiving a national lottery grant of more than �7,000.

The Meldreth Local History Group has become one of the first groups to benefit from the Heritage Lottery (HLF) All Out Stories fund, which launched earlier this year.

The group will receive �7,100 to fund a project called the History of Meldreth, which will involve the digging of “test pits” at different locations in the village, so that members can discover more about the village developed and evolved.

Joan Gane, chairman of Meldreth Local History Group, said: “Meldreth Local History Group is very pleased to have been awarded this HLF grant to enable us to dig deeper into our history and to try and discover more about how and why our ancestors settled here originally.

“Being a very friendly and active village, we know we will be able to energise all age groups into sharing history together in 2013 when we start our All Our Stories project. Our thanks go to Dr Carenza Lewis and the University of Cambridge archaeologists and historians for inspiring us.”

The group will receive support from Cambridge Community Heritage throughout the project and will be working closely with Dr Lewis, former Time Team presenter, and head of Cambridge Community Heritage, who has overseen the digging of hundreds of test pits in over 50 villages throughout the east of England.

The History of Meldreth project, which will begin next year, will involve the digging of 20-30 test pits in different locations in Meldreth.

They will be hoping to unearth items similar to those found in the Meldreth Hoard, a collection of bronze age artefacts discovered in the village in the 19th century.

The group intends to involve the wider community by inviting them to actively participate in the project and an initial public meeting will be held early in 2013. Findings from the project will be shared through the group’s website, www.meldrethhistory.org.uk, and they are planning an exhibition in Meldreth Village Hall at the conclusion of the project.

Members will be available to answer questions on the project at their exhibition in the Tavern Gallery, High Street, Meldreth. The exhibition starts today (Thursday) and runs until this Sunday, November 25. It is open from 10am-4pm each day and will feature photographs of the village and old maps as well as information on the Meldreth Hoard.