SUBSTANTIAL funding will help transform a charity specialising in preserving history for generations to come.

The Mills Archive Trust received £95,300 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to support the exciting 'Succession Breeds Success' project.

The group is responsible for caring for rare UK milling records and the latest project is expected to provide valuable resources and educational opportunities.

Liz Bartram, director of programmes and development, said: “We are delighted to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players.

“We are confident that with this funding, we will transform what we can achieve as a charity and ensure that these precious records are preserved now and for future generations.

“We are grateful for our supporters, who have already helped to establish the archive and get us this far. With this grant we can build on our previous successes. We look forward to keeping you updated as we make progress on the project milestones.”

Reading Chronicle:

The HLF grant scheme - Resilient Heritage - offers grants of £3,000 to £250,000 to help organisations get off the ground or develop further.

With this huge cash windfall, Mills Archive will be able to improve management of the millions of images and documents in storage.

The archive, established in 2002, depends on the tireless efforts of dedicated volunteers to keep the records in order.

Ms Bartram added: "The project will provide the tools to make the organisation resilient so that we can continue to provide educational services for the benefit of all, from the student, mill researcher and family historian, to the millwright, engineer and architect.

"We are proud of our relationship with our community, not only are we providing a service for the public and subject enthusiasts, we have for the last 10 years been running a successful work experience programme for local graduates."

More than 75,000 people visit the website every year and more than £1m has been raised by Mills Archive to help train and retain professionally qualified archivists.

Visit: https://millsarchive.org/ for more information.