AS WGC celebrates its 90th birthday, there was further cause to break out the bubbly this week for a group of trustees from the town’s heritage society.

Members of the Welwyn Garden Heritage Trust (WGHT) are celebrating the news that a bid for �50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund has been approved.

The WGHT had applied for the cash in order to support a number of heritage projects in the town, including the Where Do You Think You Live? study, which will give WGC homeowners a chance to research the origins of the houses they live in.

Working with Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies (HALS), the WGHT will provide workshops and visits to the County Archives in Hertford so that people can find out who built their house and when, and who lived in it before.

The money will also go towards expanding the trust’s Thanks for the Memories programme, a series of recorded interviews with residents recollecting the early days of WGC, as well as a photographic project for schoolchildren.

All of the projects will be added to the online archive Our Welwyn Garden City, which is being supported by the University of Hertfordshire.

After the HLF bid was approved, delighted Trust members cracked open a bottle of champagne and toasted their success at the Ebenezer Howard memorial in Howardsgate.

Trustee Tony Skottowe said: “We have been very lucky to have such tremendous support from both HALS and the university.

“It is also a great coincidence that this has all come together during the year of the 90th anniversary of the town and we are hoping lots of people will want to get involved in finding out and showing off the special nature of this wonderful place.”

To get involved in any part of the project, visit www.welwyngarden-heritage.org, or write to: Welwyn Garden Heritage Trust, c/o 60 Bridge Road, WGC, AL8 6UR.