A Group dedicated to recording Herefordshire’s heritage, has received £27,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting new oral history project, River Voices: Stories from the Wye.

Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project focuses on stories in, on, and beside the Wye. From bathers, ghillies, walkers, fishermen, canoeists and more, their memories will be captured.

The project offers an opportunity for people of all generations to discover and explore the living history of this stretch of water that slices through the county, and learn new skills too. The production of a book, website, three newsletters, school learning package, and oral history training, in addition to reminiscence workshops and an exhibition, will ensure a wide-ranging audience for this human history of the River Wye in Herefordshire.

Herefordshire Lore has been collecting, publishing and archiving people’s memories since 1989. Its archive of work, represented by hundreds of hours of voice recordings and pages of written transcriptions, largely undertaken by volunteers, is unsurpassed.

Herefordshire Lore’s Chairman, Mark Hubbard said: “We are delighted to be awarded this funding from the HLF. Herefordshire Lore has years of experience in recording the county’s history, and has built up a huge and valuable archive that will be a huge resource for future generations. I am excited to see what stories we uncover in River Voices. I would encourage anyone interested in volunteering for the project, even just a small part, to get in touch with the project manager.”

If you are interested in getting involved, have a story to tell, or would like to learn more about the reminiscence and oral history sessions, please get in touch with project manager Marsha O’Mahony via 07989 733870 or [email protected].