Society provides funds for history (From Gazette Series)

Society provides funds for history

FUNDS to encourage more research on local history in Bristol, Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire are being offered by the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society.

A £39,000 bequest from Irene Bridgeman, of Cheltenham, has been used to set up the Irene Bridgeman Fund with grants of up to £500.

Society secretary David Smith said: "Research is expensive. Costs like travel, photography, specialist reports on finds and illustrations for articles can mount up. But very few organisations offer funding for this, which puts off some people from embarking on research.

"So the society is providing funds to encourage more research on local history and archaeology and the publication of results."

Although applications have already been received, the society still has more cash to give away. But fast action is needed as the deadline is Sunday, February 1.

The society, founded in 1879, has 850 members. It arranges lecture in Bristol, Gloucester and Cheltenham and organises excursions in the UK and abroad each year. Interests include architecture, local history, sites and monuments, genealogy, heraldry and landscape history.

It publishes an annual journal and an edition of Gloucestershire historical documents. There is also a well-stocked library on the Francis Close campus of the University of Gloucestershire in Cheltenham and a website - www.bgas.org.uk