Image: Hindhead Commons and the Devil's Punch Bowl (National Trust / John Millar)
GPS-triggered stories reveal forgotten voices of mill workers and craftspeople at three historic properties through new interactive walking trails
A new immersive storytelling app has been launched across three National Trust properties, in partnership with the University of Exeter.
The app tells the stories of Saltram in Devon, Quarry Bank in Cheshire and Devil’s Punch Bowl in Surrey, through walking trails.
Told through the eyes of a carpenter, a young millworker and a broom maker, the stories are unveiled through eight stops, hooked to a historic map and triggered by GPS.
The HistoryScapes app is led by the National Trust’s Historic Environment and Visitor Experience teams.
Shannon Hogan, Archaeologist for the National Trust said: “There are many documents and archives representing landowners and the wealthy families who created and lived in some of the Trust’s most lavish houses and estates, but far less is known about the people who laboured in these places and kept them going. It is their stories that we are connecting with through HistoryScapes, drawing on historical research, and imagining both their inner thoughts and the conversations they had as part of their day-to-day lives.”
HistoryScapes’ trail director, Dr David Rosenthal from the University of Exeter, added: “This has been a tremendous collaboration with the three property teams at the National Trust. Together we’ve created what might be called digital monuments to an element of heritage that is easily overlooked.
“What we hope is that the combination of the stories, expert commentary and images – many from the properties’ own collections – will connect visitors to these landscapes and histories in a fresh, immediate way.”
The app will be available to visitors as a free download until the end of 2025.