The history of Wymondham’s is being brought to life with the help of a unique, interactive heritage trail.
South Norfolk Council has been successful in securing a £116,000 grant from the Rural Development Programme for England to build a digitally interactive historical trail that will be available to download, free of charge, from all app stores.
The trail has both child and adult versions that can be used in parallel, on separate smart devices, allowing families to enjoy the experience together while watching different stories as they explore the town.
The trail is a pre-set walking tour of Wymondham and the user is guided around the town by the geo-mapping function of the app as historic events, local stories and objects are brought to life, providing a state of the art digital experience.
3D images of rarely accessed historical artefacts are featured alongside an informative narrative and by merging the real and virtual world, an augmented virtual reality landscape, buildings and people appear.
The app allows families to immerse themselves in a unique experience and see ancient ruins rebuilt, a bustling town market and historic figures from Kett’s rebellion walk the streets again.
The starting point for the children’s version will be a ‘Moongazer’ GoGo Hare. The app will create a captivating discovery and collectables trail, led by an animated hare character called Henry. Youngsters will be asked to collect his lost items on a treasure hunt and put them into their virtual basket as they find them.
Children will also be able to take part in a quiz based on the things they learn as they take part in the trail.
The Adult option will link to the town’s existing physical assets including the Abbey and the town museum. The technology enables 360 degree historical scenes to be created demonstrating the passage of time with3d images of buildings appearing to be constructed and deconstructed.
Characters can be superimposed into the settings to interpret the story and artist’s impressions are used to recreate specific events and places.
For example, on any smart device and in-line with the stories being told, users will be able to see:
• Wymondham’s market place as it was in medieval times.
• The Abbey as it appeared in 1200 and then deconstructing through the ages right before the user’s eyes.
• The Wymondham fire of 1615.
• 3d modelling of artefacts from the Museum’s archive collection including the death mask of James Rush, featured in the Stanfield Murder story will also be featured on the trail.
South Norfolk Council Cabinet member Michael Edney said. “This is fantastic for the town and will attract thousands of visitors into Wymondham benefitting local businesses. The whole trail is remarkable but for many, the highlight will be the virtual reality gaming experience at the Wymondham Museum. Virtual reality headsets will transport visitors back to Norwich in 1549 to be an observer and participant in the Kett’s Rebellion battle within the city walls. The user will be able to interact with the virtual environment and experience the sights and sounds as they might have appeared on the day, it’s just brilliant.”
The app will also give those taking part options for more information about the featured stories and historical content, details of appropriate promotional offers from local businesses, local car park sites, an orientation map, places to eat and drink, local nearby attractions and links to other websites including our Chronicle Stories website.
The trail is planned to go live in the new year.
South Norfolk Council’s Leisure Team have recently launched a brand-new YouTube channel to help residents keep fit and active during lockdown.
The Council’s 3 Leisure Centres in Diss, Wymondham and Long Stratton were forced to close in March, but the team have been busy creating free content to help inspire residents to try new ways of exercising and keep fit at home.
Over the coming weeks, the team will post Pilates, Yoga, HIIT workouts and much more on their South Norfolk Leisure channel.
Aspiring footballers and those wishing to use their passion of football to kick off their future careers have been given a boost with the arrival of a national football and education programme in Wymondham.
The Football Industry College kicked off at South Norfolk Council’s fantastic 3G facility at Kett’s Park in September 2019, providing boys and girls aged 16 to 18, the opportunity to combine education with a football development, training and match programme.
Utilising the exciting world of the Football Industry with an innovative education and sports development programme, students have the opportunity to study for a BTEC Level 1/2 Sport or Level 3 in Sport & Exercise Science, along with the chance to improve their GCSE maths and English grades if required.
South Norfolk Council Cabinet member, Yvonne Bendle said: “Being host to the Football Industry College is fantastic news for the district. The Council continues to invest in the health and wellbeing of our residents and it is wonderful to see our new facility being used to offer young people such a great opportunity.”
In the second of our series giving you the opportunity to learn a little bit more about the people who own or run some of the fabulous local independent businesses which we are proud to feature on All Things Norfolk, we feature Martin Wanger of Madeline Dando Books.
Madeline Dando Books is based in Wymondham and titles include "Amber Sands" and "Leaving Her Tears Behind" .
"Amber Sands" is a true love story with bags of courage, resilience and triumph over adversity.The author wants the book to warm your heart, break your heart and to inspire each and every reader. "Leaving Her Tears Behind" is a story of love, desire, greed, hate and revenge, that the Author thinks will keep you on the edge of your seat right till the very end.
Have you got a few hours a week to spare? Do you want to spend some of your free time in a really worthwhile way? Wymondham Abbey is looking for more volunteers to act as welcomers and shop assistants. You would be joining an established team of people helping to keep one of Norfolk’s premier tourist attractions open and welcoming.
Wymondham Abbey is the town’s parish church. Founded in 1107 as a priory, it has a rich and fascinating history. A recent £2.5m Heritage Lottery Fund supported development has added much admired new spaces and facilities. The project also allowed many of the Abbey’s archive treasures, some over 700 years old, to be displayed and interpreted. It recently won an award for ‘Most Welcoming Church’ in the Norwich Diocese.
Local business woman Wednesday Batchelor from Unicorn Cakery and Delectables in Wymondham won top prize in South Norfolk Council’s Victoria Sponge Bake Off competition.
Her prosecco soaked Victoria sponge, with white chocolate buttercream and homemade cherry jam had the judges heading back for seconds and thirds when the competition ran earlier in the month at South Norfolk on Show.
Having quit her job in May as a facilities manager to spend more time with her one-year-old daughter Isabella, Wednesday was keen to raise the profile of her new business.