A VILLAGE local history group near Alresford has been boosted by a big National Lottery Heritage Grant.

The Ropley History Network and Archive local history group has got the money to create a website and digital archive to support its expanding work.

The project, which started in May and has a year to complete, will give everyone who is interested in the history of Ropley and its surrounding area access to information in the village archive.

Volunteers will gain new skills in preserving and recording donated material for the website and archive. The village school and other local community and heritage groups have offered to be involved.

The project will make available content from the village archive and information from the new research underway.

The Ropley History Network and Archive project steering group said “We are excited that, thanks to National Lottery Heritage Fund support, it is now possible for us to move forward with the expansion of our heritage project to enable a wider audience to be able to explore, share and learn about history of Ropley and its surrounding area in a more interactive and engaging way”.

The Ropley History Network and Archive local history group is a sub group of wider Ropley Society, which aims to protect the environment and character of Ropley.