RESEARCH into the history of Dodderhill parish, near Wychbold, has been given a new lease of life with a £25,000 grant.

The money approved by the Local Heritage Initiative will enable specialists to be brought in to assist the research of volunteers from Droitwich History and Archaeology Society.

"We are delighted with the new funding, which will be matched with volunteer time," said chairman Lyn Blewitt.

She said it would cover the cost of geophysics, in which probes are inserted into the ground to detect buried walls and earthworks and dendrochronology, in which dates are fixed by the annual growth rings in ancient timbers.

It will also pay for an expert in mediaeval Latin to search out and interpret relevant documents in the library of Worcester Cathedral.

Project findings will be stored on a laptop computer, held locally so that information will be accessible to Dodderhill residents.

The group has been researching the history of Dodderhill since 1996 and has already received one grant of £3,625 from the Local Heritage Initiative, which is a partnership between the Heritage Lottery Fund, Nationwide Building Society and the Countryside Agency.

"The project will continue until March 2006 and we will carry on with our work of visiting records offices and transcribing records, alongside the specialists," said Lyn.

By walking ploughed fields, with the permission of the land owners, the group has already identified three small Romano-British farmsteads along Crutch Lane, a Roman salt route to the north of Droitwich. They also hope to revisit some areas with metal detectors.

The second project will be launched on Tuesday, May 20, with a free public lecture by Dr Steve Bassett, of the Department of Mediaeval History at the University of Birmingham.

An eminent researcher on the early development of the English parish, he is currently researching the historic boundary of the Borough of Droitwich.

His illustrated talk, The Landscape of Anglo-Saxon Droitwich and its Hinterland, will cover the early medieval history of Droitwich and Dodderhill with Wynchbold.

To be held in Wychbold Village Hall, starting at 7.30pm it is open to all and will be of especial interest to anyone wishing to join the project.

A summary of the findings so far was published earlier this year in a 25-page booklet, Dodderhill Parish Notes, price £1, from Stuart Miller on 01527 861 317.