THE first stage of a two-year social history project has been officially unveiled at Dulverton Heritage Centre.

Dulverton and District Civic Society, the charity which runs the centre, has secured almost £5,000 to tell the story of the town's privileged and poor.

The Privilege and Poverty project aims to unravel stories from the Exmoor House Workhouse – now the headquarters of Exmoor National Park Authority – and the history of the town's many grand private homes.

The two-year project secured £3,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund's Sharing Heritage grant scheme and almost £2,000 from the national park authority's Partnership Fund.

The money will enable the society to explore the origins of the workhouse and how local people managed to ensure that Dulverton had a building of architectural merit.

The project will also help to explain how Dulverton has come to have more than its fair share of fine houses, the unique features of each property, the stories of their occupants and the employment opportunities offered to local people.

The exhibition also links up with the arrival of the railway in Dulverton and the early days of tourism on Exmoor – made all the more easier by being able to stay with family in the large private homes dotted throughout the town and across the moor.

Timothy and Beatrice Bell, current owners of Pixton House, were joined by Mary Atkins, widow of Tommy Atkins who lived in the workhouse as a young boy, helped to launch the first stage of the project.

Chris Nelder, chairman of the civic society, said: "It is great that we have been awarded these grants.

"We love where we live and know there's so much more to discover about our past.

"We are all really excited about telling local people and visitors about our project and sharing our heritage and history with them."

Photo: Paul Scullion