Innovative Heritage Trail Brings Hidden Stories to Life in Northallerton
Discover Northallerton is an innovative heritage trail that uses augmented reality to bring hidden stories to life in Northallerton. Its immersive and engaging content has connected residents and visitors with the local heritage in exciting new ways.
The ambition
The Discover Northallerton heritage trail aimed to:
- Interpret a wealth of historical information and research using an exciting visual approach and mobile technology to reach new audiences
- Uncover hidden stories of the people and events that shaped the market town over the centuries and record local people’s stories for posterity
- Provide an innovative way to bring people into the town centre, to encourage visitors and the local community to discover new places through digital storytelling
Who made it happen
The Northallerton High Streets Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) was a partnership scheme led by North Yorkshire Council and supported by Historic England.
Partners included:
- York Archaeological Trust, leading on historical research and most engagement activities
- Heritage 360, the lead consultants on creating media including 3D visualisations
- Peel Interactive, commissioned at a later stage to oversee the development of the application
- York University
- North Yorkshire County Archives
- Northallerton Local History Society
The project also harnessed skills and knowledge from across the wider HSHAZ project and relied heavily on the input and knowledge of local heritage groups and community members.
These case study details were provided by North Yorkshire Council.
Funding sources
- Historic England: £79,000
- North Yorkshire Council: £83,000
Many volunteers also contributed their time and expertise to the project.
The results
The Discover Northallerton heritage trail app has exceeded expectations. It brings together a full range of digital storytelling including:
- augmented reality
- immersive 3D visualisations
- 2D and 3D animation
- 360 computer generated imagery (CGI) experiences
- reconstruction
- soundscapes
- photographs, films and digital archive materials
Reaching new audiences
The app has a broad demographic appeal, with the advanced technology, fun elements, and a menagerie of animated animals along the route resonating with a younger audience. This sits alongside accurate historical interpretations that appeal to older audiences and those already engaged in the town’s cultural and architectural heritage.
Strategic value to the town
The application promotes local businesses and seasonal events, and encourages exploration of the town. Residents or visitors can discover something new or see heritage articulated in exciting new ways.
Users spend an average of 135 minutes on the app. This is a significant period of 'dwell time' in the town centre and would indicate the town is benefitting economically through the app promoting its rich heritage.
Co-creation uncovers lost heritage
The project has captured and uncovered lost heritage through co-creation with the local community. Those with experience of living, working, or engaging with points of interest on the trail were interviewed, including former prison officers, prisoners and people who had lived or worked in the yards and coaching inns.
The co-creation way of working throughout the project has resulted in a multi-layered application using the latest technology to articulate heritage in new and immersive ways. Our partners’ contributions to the creative interpretation of the research have resulted in a fun, accessible and engaging experience.
The future
The augmented reality app has set a strong precedent and established best practice for other trails of this kind, not only for their cultural heritage value, but to engage visitors and the local community, promote our towns, and encourage exploration. It is hoped that the app will become the vehicle for heritage trails across North Yorkshire.
The historical and academic research undertaken has resulted in a secondary project, a significant piece of historical research which had never previously been undertaken at this level in Northallerton. This has informed people's understanding of the town’s historical, architectural, and social evolution.
The app is dynamic and scalable. The base layer covers certain periods of the town's history, but there is scope to research and articulate additional historical periods, should funding become available.
The app will continue to promote local business and events, with seasonal events and themed trails being added over time.
Lessons learnt
- New technologies present a learning curve
The technology used to build an augmented reality app of this standard is complicated, and it has been a significant learning curve. With more experience in this technology, the team have streamlined the process, approached the writing of the brief differently and had more clearly defined objectives and outputs. They could potentially have streamlined the number of consultants used, avoiding some duplication and compatibility issues. - Take advantage of partners’ technical expertise
Speak to as many organisations as possible to understand the technical requirements and level of specialist input required. A better understanding of how the various components fit together will inform the writing of briefs and help you define key deliverables. - Adopt a co-creation approach
One of the greatest achievements was how the project facilitated co-creation and collaboration, which resulted in high quality outputs. Knowledge and experience were shared across the project and everyone was receptive to one another's skills and expertise.
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