Travel Through Time in Kempley Tardis

KempleyTardis - Heritage Archive online

"Travel Through Time in Kempley Tardis"

Internet users will soon be able to explore the heritage of the village of Kempley in the Forest of Dean, thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The award of £30,700 announced on Saturday, February 27th at The Friends of Kempley Churches' AGM. The funding will allow the Friends to create an innovative website featuring interactive maps, both archival and newly created, through which users can explore a virtual model of the 20th century village and navigate backwards and forwards in time.

The central theme of the project is the written and spoken heritage of the two landmark churches within the parish. The 12th Century Church of St Mary's, an English Heritage site managed in partnership with The Friends, contains nationally important and unique medieval frescoes and wall paintings. It also has many interesting and unusual architectural features, some of which are hidden from view in the roof space and will be revealed by this project. The second church - St Edward's (1903) - was commissioned by Earl Beauchamp and is of importance as a ‘mini-cathedral' of the Arts and Crafts movement.

This community-led project is supported by several regional heritage agencies, as well as Gloucestershire Archives and local MP Mark Harper.

English Heritage's Interpretation Officer, Dr Sarah Tatham, said:, We feel that this project will produce a co-ordinated body of work that will be of great interest both within the Kempley community and beyond. A church without a community context is culturally meaningless so we welcome the opportunity to contribute both staff resources and funding."

Project manager, Mr. Chris Bligh, said: ‘By navigating backwards and forwards in time on the website and exploring its many features, people will be able to gain information on a specific enquiry, or explore the wider background or historical context by clicking on one of our team's commentaries. The experience will be just like browsing a map, so while looking for features of initial interest, I'm sure people will end up linking to other parts of the website. The longer-term objective is to motivate web-users to visit our area, so that they arrive with an informed appreciation of the village, its environment and its heritage.'

The project is being supported by Gloucestershire Archives, who are providing specialist advice. Collections Team Leader at the Archives, Julie Courtenay, said: "It's great that Kempley's history is coming alive in this way. We are looking forward to working with the volunteers and also helping them to preserve any unique records about Kempley that the project creates.'

Commenting on the award, HLF's Head of Region for the South West, Nerys Watts, said: "The heritage of the parish of Kempley is nationally important and this project clearly comes from an active community with a keen interest in exploring their history and making it available to as wide an audience as possible. We are delighted to be able to support their work, which will use 21st century technology to make the past accessible to everyone."

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For further information, please contact
Chris Bligh, Project Manager, Friends of Kempley Churches. Tel. 01531 890332
Mob 07974 974 862 e-mail: bligh@gn.apc.org

Notes to Editors

Please use the HLF logo and strapline (pdf) below when featuring this project

A pilot web page showing some of the Friends' 2009 exhibition, mapping and archive presentation work which supported our HLF bid is available at

www.unlimitedwebdesign.co.uk/kempley

Pan and zoom buttons allow you to ‘browse' the images as one might a map.

See also the 360 degree virtual tours demo - click and drag your mouse to fly around the building. In the finished virtual tour HiRes images, interpretation soundbytes and commentaries will be available recorded and edited by the KempleyTardis team. Browse low resolution demo at:

www.360vision.co.uk/case_kempley.shtml.

The Friends of Kempley Churches is the village charity promoting and managing the heritage and environment of St Mary's Church Kempley, now in the care of English Heritage. The Kempley Tardis project is produced by volunteers working through The Friends' Social History Group. Everyone is welcome to join us.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From our great museums and historic buildings to local parks and beauty spots or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up our nation's heritage for everyone to enjoy. Since 1994 it has supported more than 26,000 projects, allocating over £4 billion across the UK. www.hlf.org.uk

The church of St Mary's, Kempley has "the most complete set of Romanesque frescos in northern Europe" in its chancel which includes the Christ in Majesty fresco created in about 1120, with wall paintings of a wheel of life, showing the life cycle of man, in the nave. St Mary's churchyard is very beautiful in the early months of the year being covered in wild daffodils in late February/early March

The church of St Edward's (1903), described by Betjeman as "a mini-cathedral of the Arts and Crafts movement", was built from local materials by local labour, under the direction of Randall Wells, for William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp. The family also built a vicarage, several farmhouses and a school, before the entire village was auctioned off in 1919 at the end of the Great War. In 2009 villagers celebrated 90 yrs of becoming owner-occupier rather than tenant farmers.
The Arts and Crafts Movement was a British, Canadian, Australian and American design movement that flourished between 1880 and 1910. It was instigated by the artist and writer William Morris in the 1860s and was inspired by the writings of John Ruskin. It influenced architecture, domestic design and the decorative arts. It advocated truth to materials, traditional craftsmanship and economic reform.
Contact: Agency Partners

Heritage Lottery Fund (SW) Office Manager Ann Hunt Tel: 01392 223953
Gloucestershire Archives (GCC) Julie Courtenay Collections Team Leader 01452 425297- KempleyTardis project mentors

English Heritage (London) Dr Sarah Tatham, Interpretation Officer Tel: 020 7973 3088

Cheltenham Art Gallery - Kirsty Hartsiotis Curator: Decorative Arts and Designated Collections Tel: 01242 775712

Forest of Dean District Council Paula Burrows Tourism Marketing Manager 01594 812384
Gloucester Rural Community Council . Kate Baugh 01452 528491
Mark Harper MP Forest of Dean - c/o harperm@parliament.uk