A community open day will be held in Ely for an exciting heritage project.

Ely Standard: The receipt of sold land for the second parallel drain. The date of this receipt is April 7 1657. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Middle Level Commissioners.The receipt of sold land for the second parallel drain. The date of this receipt is April 7 1657. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Middle Level Commissioners. (Image: Archant)

The Word Garden’s ‘Origins’ will focus on exploring a “missing” history of events from 1650 to 1653, researching the construction of the second parallel drain by Scottish prisoners-of-war, following their capture after the Battle of Dunbar in 1650.

It received Heritage Lottery funding of £50,000 late last year.

A drop in session is now set to take place on Friday March 29 between 2 to 4.30pm at Ely City Church.

The team are looking for any existing, historical or unseen exhibits and information.

Jean Rees-Lyons, project coordinator on the Origins project, said: “Our Heritage Lottery funding has made it possible to reach the key aims of Origins, to discover hidden heritage stories whilst combining findings from archive materials, new data, maps and memories.

“With the passage of time, social, cultural, political and environmental changes have transformed traditional ways of life, and reshaped, in many ways, the unique Fen landscape.”

The project will culminate in a two-day celebratory event at Welney Wetlands Centre on June 29 and 30 2019.

To keep up to date with the progress visit www.babylonarts.org.uk/projects