The Heritage Lottery Fund has granted £1m to an east of England river valley in a bid to aid its conservation.

Managing a Masterpiece is a three-year project based in the Stour Valley and being lead by the Dedham Vale AONB and Stour Valley Project in conjunction with the Archaeological Service of Suffolk County Council and the Historic Environment Branch of Essex County Council. In total the Stour Valley Landscape Partnership includes 19 organisations involved in tasks that aim to achieve three main objectives.

The first will help to raise public awareness of the valley landscape and its history, including archaeological digs, a survey of riverside structures, and local traditions, customs and folklore. The second objective targets conservation to demonstrate environmental management with a special emphasis on the views painted by artists such as Constable, Gainsborough and Paul Nash as well as restoring the historic Stour lighter John Constable.

The third objective will celebrate the landscape with a range of initiatives. These include new websites featuring a virtual tour of 360 degree panoramic views from church towers, and workshops and exhibitions for new artists and schools using the Valley as inspiration. The Stour Valley, which forms the border between Suffolk and Essex, covers an area of almost 300sq km (115.8sq miles). The Landscape Partnership Scheme will concentrate on five specific areas around the villages of Clare, Sudbury, Bures, Stoke by Nayland and Dedham.

Picture courtesy of the River Stour Trust