Red Scar and Grimsargh History Walks has been made possible by a grant of £5,900 to Preston City Council Cemetery and Crematoriam Service working with Grimsargh Parish Council to explore the history of the Grimsargh area three miles north east of Preston City centre.

The Crematorium is 50 years old this year and is working with the local parish council to create a series of guided walks that will be launched at various times during Guild year. They are publishing illustrated walk guides that will include historical information about the area over the past 300 years.

A grant of £9,100 has been given to Preston Montserrat and Friends Association for a project that will tell the stories of people from the volcanic island of Montserrat in the West Indies who have settled in Preston. There was an initial influx of migrants in the 1950s who migrated here in search of a better standard of living. A second influx came in the 1990s following a major period of volcanic eruptions on the island.

The project funded by HLF has involved recording the stories of Monserration migrants and also workshops where traditional items of jewellery, hats, bags etc depicting the island’s heritage have been created. A one-day exhibition of some of this work took place at the Harris Museum and Library, a concert is being held and Montserrations wearing traditional costume and dancing to traditional music will be a feature of the Guild procession on Friday 7 September 2012

Preston People Panorama Stories is a young people’s project that, with the help of a £9,800 grant, is researching the history of panorama photography from Victorian times. A number of these extra-wide angle photographs survive from earlier Guild celebrations and the young people will be using these as inspiration to create their own panoramic images. They have already visited the Bradford National Media Museum to look at original photographic equipment and photographic plates. They are now putting together a display of their own work and historic images which will go on show as part of an exhibition on Preston Guild in the Museum of Lancashire.