The idea for the project
came as a follow-on to a successful Village Design exercise which was completed
early in 2000. Lots of people had attended exhibitions and shown an interest
in the history and heritage of the area. It seemed logical to start another
project to collect and share more information. There was also a risk that, over
time, lots of local knowledge would gradually be lost as people left the parish.
|
| Our exhibitions have all been very successful |
Buriton Village Association subsequently
obtained special grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Nationwide Building
Society, the Countryside Agency and East Hampshire AONB which meant that, after
a couple of years of research, it would be possible to produce a series of booklets
to record the findings.
Representatives of the Parish Council, the WI, the Over-60s Club, Scout Group,
PCC and the school were amongst the local groups who supported the grant applications
and who have subsequently taken part in the project.
 |
| Experts share their knowledge on a nature walk |
The project commenced in spring 2001
and a number of Open Day Exhibitions have now been held, attracting lots of
people and assembling an enormous amount of new information. More Exhibitions
will be held in the future: watch this web-site for details.
 |
| Village Design Statement - produced in 2000 |
A number of Information Sheets about a wide range of local topics have now been produced, and the project is building up a large picture library with some photographs dating back to the 1890s.
In autumn 2003 we reached a major
milestone with the publication of a series of nine books - incorporating hundreds
of photographs alongside the information collected. Full details are in
the 'Publications' section of this website.
Research into other local topics is planned and we are always looking for more
old photographs of local people and places. If you have any information about
the history or heritage of Buriton (including Weston, Nursted and Ditcham) please
get in touch.