THREE of the county's herit-age groups are to benefit from thousands of pounds worth of funding from the Local Heritage Initiative (LHI).

Grants totalling £46,000 will support the restoration and preservation of two old buildings and fund the collection of new material for a museum.

Projects cover the restoration of a windmill in York, the conservation of a small village church near Selby, and the creation of an archive of Second World War memories by Beck Isle Museum, in Pickering.

LHI advisor Jane Haigh said: "All these projects are excellent examples of how local communities have worked together to investigate, preserve and enhance their local heritage."

The museum has been awarded a £10,000 grant to collect and record the wealth of wartime memories and experiences of local people within Ryedale. It will create an archive of oral history readings, written documentary and photographic material of rural life during the war.

The LHI has also awarded £15,000 to help preserve Ellerton Priory Church, near Selby, which closed in 1978.

The Ellerton Church Preservation Trust will use the grant to help teach the public about the church's geographical, historical and cultural links. Plans include two open days, a guidebook, newsletters, a website, and workshops on conservation issues.

The most substantial grant of £21,000 has been given to the Holgate Windmill Preservation Society, in York. The society will use the money to restore and maintain York's last remaining windmill.

Built in 1770, the Lincolnshire pattern mill is one of just two in Yorkshire built with local handmade bricks.

The money will provide a full survey of the building by a qualified millwright, to enable a plan of restoration to be prepared. Public meetings, leaflets, posters and display stands are also planned for future activity by the society.