Explore the walls: The Chester Portico Project
24 May 2011
Explore the Walls: The Chester Portico Project
There is no better way to appreciate Chester’s wonderful heritage than to walk its magnificent City Walls. This Scheduled Ancient Monument, which is of international importance, is the only complete city wall circuit in Britain and has a rich and eventful 2,000-year history. Legend has it that on 24th of September 1645, King Charles stood on a tower (now bearing his name) and watched his army defeated in the battle of Rowton Moor. The 4km circular route provides glorious views of the city and links to other important heritage sites such as the Roman Amphitheatre, Chester Castle, Riverside Groves, and Chester Cathedral.
The vision for the Portico ‘Explore the Walls’ project is to deliver ‘one of the best historic city trails in Europe’. This article demonstrates the comprehensive heritage interpretation process that has been undertaken and gives a taste of the projects that will result. Currently the project is at the detailed design stage and is on track to be completed on time by December this year.
An exemplary approach
Explore the Walls is part of a Chester Renaissance programme to make the city a ‘must see’ European destination by 2015. With David Masters as Lead Consultant, Imagemakers produced a Heritage Interpretation Masterplan for the Chester in 2009, providing a strategic framework for telling Chester’s dramatic story across the city. During this project, Portico funding was secured for the City Walls and Towers.
Research and Evaluation
In 2010 the Portico City Walls and Towers project began with a detailed research and planning stage, determining the aims, themes, media and budgets for the interpretation. This work was undertaken in close liaison with the appointed architects, historic building specialists Donald Insall Associates.
We profiled visitor groups to identify the target audiences and referenced data from the Competitiveness Study about how visitors use the Walls and Towers. We also identified the physical, intellectual, cultural, attitudinal and sensory barriers that impact the visitor experience, and are mitigating these as far as possible. Provision for a younger audience was also an important consideration.
The research involved detailed consultation with key stakeholders, residents, businesses, schools, local government and partner agencies. Input was also gathered from expert heritage and tourism staff.
‘Thorough research and consultation ensures the interpretation will meet the needs of all users and fit seamlessly with other historical sites and the wider interpretation of Chester. The planning process also elicited a very positive response and a sense of ownership from stakeholders, which has had real benefits as the project becomes implemented’. David Masters, Lead Consultant, Imagemakers
The research provided the information we needed to establish the strategic aims for the interpretation. It also helped us identify the main themes and stories. The aims are to promote the walls as an enjoyable yet flexible route around the city, to encourage visitors to discover more, to create a ‘wow’ factor, to increase civic pride, to help raise the profile of the walls and their economic value, and to ensure there are strong linkages with other important sites in Chester. The main interpretive theme centres on Chester as a historic regional stronghold and the role of the Walls and Towers for ‘defence, protection, power and control’; as ‘a living monument’; and as an exciting ‘route to explore’ the city’s heritage offer.
The Interpretation Plan also specified emotional, behavioural and learning objectives to be delivered by the interpretation, from making visitors feel amazed to ensuring they can find their way around easily.
Projects to be implemented
The Interpretation Plan details a range of interpretation projects that will meet the needs of a wide audience.
Map-based orientation panels, produced in hard wearing vitreous enamel, will enable visitors to find their way around. Interpretation panels in enamelled lavastone, a natural material, will tell site specific stories at key locations, and include zinc rubbing plates for children. A cutting edge smartphone app, with a strong gaming element, CGI animations and high definition AV sequences, will target those comfortable using new media. A beautifully designed guidebook will also be produced for those who like a more traditional but contemporarily styled way of accessing information.
An augmented reality digital binocular viewpoint, the first of its kind in the UK, will take visitors back in time, revealing layers of history when the landscape was dramatically different. Thematic arts installations, conceived by artist Patricia MacKinnon Day, will visually take the roof off a tower, introduce ‘wishes’ into the public realm, provide a reflective resting point, and relate to a true story of romance and escape.
We will also install a replica Civil War canon on an old gun battery platform, and create immersive audio experiences and medieval backdrops in some of the Towers.
A new website is also in development and this will integral to the promotion of the experience. It will act a digital hub, enabling visitors to find out more pre and post visit and link to other Chester heritage and tourism on-line facilities.
Conclusion
By taking a robust, research-based, and thoroughly consulted approach to planning the interpretation, the project team have been able to devise a coherent and compelling scheme that has the support of a wide range of partners and stakeholders.
We are confident the resulting interpretation will significantly enhance the visitor experience and, together with the architectural interventions, successfully deliver the Portico ambition for Chester. We hope that his impact can then be quantified as clear evidence of the benefits of investing in and using archaeology and the built heritage for economic development.
[Image captions: Reconstruction illustrations of the medieval Water Tower and Eastgate, commissioned as part of the Portico scheme.]
David Masters, Lead Consultant, Imagemakers Interpretive Design and Consulting. Tel (+44) 1837 840717 Email davidm@removethis.imagemakers.uk.com Website www.imagemakers.uk.com