People in the Culm Valley are being asked to dig out old photographs and documents to help a new local heritage project.

People in the Culm Valley are being asked to dig out old photographs and documents to help a new local heritage project.

The Hemyock Archiving Project will bring together historic materials from the area, and make them available to the public. Users will be able to browse the collection online and order high quality copies.

A more complex image bank will also be available at special sites where it will be possible to carry out detailed searches.

The archive will cover the whole of the Culm Valley area, and organisers are keen to hear from anyone who has old photographs of family or village life. The project's Marion Churchill said:

"So many people around the world are fascinated by their ancestry and the heritage of this area, that we are expecting a huge level of interest. We have a certain amount of material already, but I am sure that there are lots more wonderful pictures and documents tucked away in people's homes. I would urge anyone who has something they can share to get in touch with us".

The work, which has been funded through the Blackdown Hills AONB's Sustainable Development Fund, will also help to protect the collection for future generations. Over time images and documents can fade, but transfer to digital form using the latest software will ensure that they are preserved.

Over the coming months, the project team will be putting together the collection to launch on www.hemyock.org. To find out more, or to contribute material, contact Marion Churchill or Michael Cooper on 01823 680175.