A CONSERVATION group has received £8,000 to set up an exhibition on 900 years of history of the Wychwood Forest.

The Wychwood Project, which has been helping to conserve west Oxfordshire's landscapes and important wildlife habitats since 1997, was awarded the grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It will be used for a free exhibition at the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock which will explore the lives of people living and working around the former royal forest.

The project’s learning officer Debbie Pain is delighted the exhibition has secured the grant.

She said: “We are thrilled that National Lottery funding is helping us to bring the story of Wychwood Forest to local people and visitors to west Oxfordshire.

“Many people are not aware that west Oxfordshire used to be a royal forest. The forest ruled our region for more than 800 years, influencing our landscape, buildings, industries and way of life and much of that history is still tangible today.

“We hope people will come along to the exhibition, get a taste of what it was like to live here in the time of the forest and see what a great legacy it has left us.”

The exhibition will go on display from June to September this year. It will explain the origins of the forest as a hunting ground for Norman royalty and look at the way of life of people in the area over the centuries, whether shepherds, woodsmen or gloveresses.

It will also cover the dramatic change to West Oxfordshire in the 1850s when much of the forest was enclosed, trees were felled and the land was turned over to farming.

The main aim of the Wychwood Project is to inspire people to restore and conserve landscapes and habitats and works in partnership with local communities planting new woodlands and hedgerows, rebuilding drystone walls and conserving wildlife-rich meadows, woods, hedges and ponds.

In addition, the group provides advice, training, and opportunities for volunteers, upon whom it depends, to become directly involved in caring for the Wychwood countryside.

The project's biggest success to date is the creation of Wychwood's largest community woodland, `Foxburrow Wood’, to the north of Witney. About 22 acres have been planted with more than 11,000 trees and shrubs and a welcome trail and parking area for users.

The exhibition opens on June 10.

To learn more about the Wychwood Project go to wychwoodproject.org