Heritage Lottery Fund to explore Middleham's heritage

THE Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a grant of £49,000 to Middleham Town Council to explore and celebrate the town's rich heritage.

The grant has created an opportunity to examine, with the local community, Middleham's heritage and to find ways of recording, preserving and protecting it so that it can be shared with a wider audience.

Middleham has a rich and interesting history with its medieval settlement, which with the growth of the racing industry built Georgian Middleham. Its magnificent castle was home of Richard III, who gave the town its charter and the famous Middleham jewel was found nearby.

It has historically been a centre of excellence for the breading and training of racehorses. Today about 500 horses are in training in the town and surrounding area. Each morning horses are ridden through the town and up onto the Middleham Moor gallops.

The award will allow Middleham Town Council to fund the work of a Heritage Officer for a two-year period. During this time events will be organised to learn more about Middleham with exhibitions and other community activities charting the town's history. This will include arts and crafts for children inspired by the local heritage as well as local history guided walks and lectures. Further research will also take place alongside the events to create some lasting displays from natural heritage of the moors to the splendid architecture around the town.

Fiona Spiers, Regional Manager of the Heritage Lottery Fund said: "This is a fantastic project that will allow people to learn about Middleham's rich historical past. We're committed to funding projects that every community can take pride in and learn about their local heritage. In this case, learning about heritage has never been such fun!"