Projects aimed at bringing Suffolk's rich history to life have been boosted with an almost £1.2m investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund.Officials at the National Trust spoke of their delight yesterday after Ickworth House, near Bury St Edmunds, was awarded almost £1m to help bring alive the memories of the people that worked at the historic country house and estate.

Projects aimed at bringing Suffolk's rich history to life have been boosted with an almost £1.2m investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Officials at the National Trust spoke of their delight yesterday after Ickworth House, near Bury St Edmunds, was awarded almost £1m to help bring alive the memories of the people that worked at the historic country house and estate.

The £999,500 lottery funding will be used to work on a “groundbreaking” Real Lives project that will tell the upstairs-downstairs life of the early 19th century house.

The age of steam is also set to be brought back to life after the East Anglian Transport Museum, near Lowestoft, was awarded £198,500 by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Volunteers from the transport museum at Carlton Colville will use the funds to tell the story of the roadmen of East Anglia, which will include the construction of a building to house the exhibition and ensure the preservation of key early 20th century vehicles.

The National Trust will use its funding to recruit a Real Lives project officer and volunteers to collect memories from those that worked at Ickworth House and its gardens and the evacuees sent there during the second world war.

Kate Carver, the National Trust's property manager for Ickworth House, said: “By capturing the memories of real people, their real lives, we can demonstrate the importance of the connection between Ickworth and the community.”

Since 1994, the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded over £30m to projects in Suffolk, which includes community heritage projects such as conservation to the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds and the restoration of the Lydia Eva fishing boat in Lowestoft

David Jordan, chairman of the East Anglia Transport Museum, added: “We are delighted that the grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund will enable all our visitors to view the steam collection. A dedicated steam centre has been part of the museum's plans for a long time.”