A VILLAGE near Winchester can ‘tell its story’ thanks to a cash boost from the national lottery.

Colden Common Community Association has received a £4600 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and will now launch Telling Our Story: The Colden Common History Project.

The association and members of the Colden Common History Club will investigate buildings, families, industries and events.

The project is part of All Our Stories, a small grants programme launched earlier this year in support of the BBC’s The Great British Story. The aim is to support community groups in exploring and celebrating their local heritage.

Maureen Rees, chair of the community association, said: “We love where we live and now there's so much more to discover about our past. We are all really excited about telling other people about our findings and sharing our heritage and history with them."

Stuart McLeod, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund south east, said: "Clearly the success of All Our Stories has reinforced the fact that we are indeed a nation of story tellers and that we want to explore and dig deeper into our past and discover more about what really matters to us. This is exactly what the grant will do for the Colden Common History Project as they embark on a real journey of discovery."