The money will be used by the Greater Morpeth Development Trust (GMDT), to support a variety of activities aimed at encouraging more people to learn about the town's history, as well as funding the appointment of a full-time heritage officer.

Trust officials say the funding will allow the new officer to work closely with volunteer heritage enthusiasts, local residents and schoolchildren of all ages, to develop events and activities, publications and open days associated with the town, its historic buildings and famous residents of the past.

As a town steeped in history, Morpeth can boast some splendid old buildings such as the Town Hall and The Chantry, as well as sites identified through the Castles, Woods and Water study.

Among its most famous 'sons and daughters' were Admiral Lord Collingwood who fought at Trafalgar with Lord Nelson, botanist William Turner and suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, who threw herself in front of the King's horse at the Epsom Derby.

The town also hosts the annual Northumbrian Gathering of traditional music and arts, as well as other smaller events linked to Morpeth's heritage.

Kim Bibby-Wilson, Director of GMDT's heritage interest group, said: "The Trust will be working in partnership with the local community to deliver a quality project using the funding it has successfully secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

"We are delighted to have been awarded this grant which we intend to use to further the understanding and increase access to major elements of Morpeth's heritage."

One of those elements will be to develop a comprehensive training programme designed to allow volunteers to more effectively promote, conserve and interpret Morpeth's heritage, and to enable them to obtain qualifications so that they can further increase interpretation opportunities.

Events and activities will also be designed to be as inclusive as possible, reaching out to schools, local organisations and individual residents of the community.

The proposed heritage programmes will be linked into the national school curriculum wherever possible, and will be suitable for use by pupils of all ages. For example, a two year educational programme targeting formal and informal teaching, will begin this October in the form of Interactive Heritage Activities for schools, as well as heritage trail lectures for the general public.

Funding will also be used to devise heritage publications and multi-media packages; commission a heritage map for public display; co-ordinate a heritage trail around Morpeth; and create interpretative features and signage with activities being developed around key dates in the calendar.

Mrs Bibby-Wilson said it was hoped the new heritage officer will be in post within the next few weeks.