PLANS to make Southampton’s “magnificent” collection of historic artefacts more accessible to the public are under way with a £400,000 grant.

The major ‘Southampton Treasures’ project will see 400,000 items from the collection brought into the public domain with the cash from Arts Council England.

Including the country’s biggest collection of ocean liner furniture, hundreds of historic paintings, medals, jewellery, clothing and cruise ship ephemera, experts and historians will digitise the collection and make details of the items available online.

Now city heritage bosses will come up with a business plan of how to spend the cash – and say it will include employing historians, curators, and digital officers to oversee the project.

But city heritage manager Lisa Lasky and maritime curator Maria Newbery say they want Sotonians to be involved as much as possible, and are on the lookout for amateur historians and willing volunteers to help document and research the artefacts – many of which are stored in a huge warehouse near the port.

Ms Lasky said: “We’d like to invite people to bring in their own memorabilia, and we will teach some research techniques as well as supervising volunteers as they research some of the items in the collection.

“But a large part of it will be outreach work, going into schools and getting children and other people interested in their local history.

“It’s been shown that giving people a taste of what’s available in a city by showing it online makes them more likely to come and visit for themselves.

“The objective is to make the very best of our collection and make sure it contributes to the city socially.”

Local history fan William Burns who runs Sotonians and Friends group, welcomed the idea and said: “There are plenty of local experts, and as long as it’s not all handed out to private companies it’s a move in the right direction. I’m sure there are lots of people who would want to get involved.”

City culture boss, Councillor Satvir Kaur, added: “It’s not just about learning about the past, it’s about investing in the future and promoting a sense of pride in the city. Culture is such a big contributor to the economy that by investing it will be beneficial to everybody.”

As previously reported the grant is part of £13million given to arts and heritage organisations across Southampton and Hampshire in an arts funding coup for the region.

Funding for Southampton Treasures will mean Southampton City Council becomes a National Portfolio Organisation – as long as they get the go-ahead at the end of this year.

An ACE spokesperson said “99.9 per cent” of the conditional NPO grants go through.

If anyone would like to get involved they can contact museums@southampton.gov.uk