EXBOURNE Local History Group is to receive a £4,900 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to research houses in the village and their history.

The group will receive an 'All Our Stories' grant from the HLF to fund its 'Story of some of the 18th Century Houses and Farms in Exbourne Parish' project. As the name suggests, the project will look into some of the older houses in the parish, researching their history in depth.

Group chairman Steve Gazzard said: 'It's great that we have been awarded this grant and we can't wait to get started.

'There is so much to discover about Exbourne's past. We are all really excited about telling other people about our findings and sharing our heritage and history with them. We will be working on the project throughout 2013 and we intend to keep everyone informed about what we discover.'

The 'All Our Stories' scheme is a small grants funding programme enabling groups to explore their area's heritage and share the findings with others. The programme was launched in support of BBC 2's 'The Great British Story' aired in 2012, and has been designed for everyone to get involved in their heritage.

Richard Bellamy, head of Heritage Lottery Fund South West, said there was a desire to explore and discover more about our past and what really matters to us: 'This is exactly what the grant will do for Exbourne Local History Group as they embark on a real journey of discovery.'