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Uncover Winchelsea
Location: East Sussex
This is a picture of the Strand Gate in Winchelsea, East Sussex, taken in the morning on a day in June 2005.
It’s picturesque, isn't it? But have you ever wondered, when standing looking at an ancient building like this, what it would have looked like when it was new?
Well, this is how the Strand Gate would have looked in the morning on a day in June 3005.
Wouldn't you like to know more about this gate, the men standing in front of it and the town beyond it? Suddenly, a pile of old stones is brought vividly to life. Suddenly, a medieval ruin becomes an important link to the past.
If you agree, then our project is working!
The ‘Uncover Winchelsea' project is about bringing the past to life in a way that makes it interesting and important to us, the guardians of an important heritage.
Why Winchelsea?
Winchelsea is one of England’s least known but most important heritage sites. Today, it is a tranquil Sussex village of some 600 people. But 700 years ago, it was one of the greatest ports of the kingdom and a member of the Cinque Port Confederation with the special title of Ancient Town.
The ships of Winchelsea fished and traded from the North Sea to the Bay of Biscay. In times of war, along with the other members of the Cinque Port Confederation, it provided the fleets that defended our shores before the existence of the Royal Navy. In war and peace, its mariners indulged all too frequently in piracy and were the terror of the Narrow Seas.
The remnants of Winchelsea’s past glories are still to be seen: the imposing Church of St Thomas the Martyr, once the size of a small cathedral; three medieval gates; and, hidden beneath the broad streets, a collection of medieval wine cellars rivaled only by Southampton.
Moreover, the town was built by Edward I to replace an even older port of the same name, which was swept away by the sea in the 13th century. The new town was therefore planned from scratch and one of the unique features of modern Winchelsea is that its streets preserve the medieval grid pattern. Winchelsea also retains its historic setting, perched on a hill surrounded by marshland and resembling the hill-top bastide towns planted by Edward I in Gascony.
Although Winchelsea suffered during its time in the front line of the Hundred Years War, it was not the French who pushed the town off the pages of history. It was nature. Winchelsea was a river port sited on the estuary of the River Brede. The gradual silting of that estuary eventually isolated the Town from the sea. It became, in Kipling’s words, one of our ‘ports of stranded pride’. By the middle of the 16th century, Winchelsea was a sad reflection of its former self. However, that decline has preserved many of the features of the medieval town for modern generations.
The need
Despite its spectacular history (of which, you can read more at the Winchelsea website), many people’s understanding of the history of Winchelsea consists of romantic myths about smugglers and the like. This is a shame: the real history is far more interesting. It may also be a threat to Winchelsea’s heritage. As residents, we are guardians of Winchelsea’s heritage. If our understanding of the history of our own town is poor, how well can we defend and preserve its heritage? And if we do not value our own history, what wider public support can we expect when its heritage is threatened by neglect or inappropriate development.
The purpose of the ‘Uncover Winchelsea’ project is to help the residents of the town uncover more of its history in order to ‘reconnect’ the community with its heritage and gain for themselves and visitors an insight that is not available from looking at the monuments or in traditional guidebooks. The aim is to promote a wider and deeper appreciation of Winchelsea’s history outside of academic circles and help to build the greater public awareness of its unique heritage.
The opportunity
In recent years, our knowledge about medieval Winchelsea has been consolidated and critically re-assessed by archaeologists and historians. In particular, we now know a lot more about how historic Winchelsea looked. In the normal course of events, work of this sort tends to stay hidden in academic texts, which are a bit turgid for most people.
In order to make the history of Winchelsea more accessible to the public in general and the residents of the Town in particular, members of Winchelsea’s Archaeological Society (WAS) decided to use the newly consolidated archaeology and history to construct reconstructions of the historic Town. The East Sussex County Archaeologist, Dr Andrew Woodcock, put the WAS in touch with Dominic Andrews, a young archaeologist specialising in visual reconstructions of ancient buildings.
The next conundrum --- how to display reconstructions to full effect to the public, in particular to visitors --- was resolved by a helpful suggestion from the local Hidden Britain consultant, James Turner, who was aware of new technology that could do just this --- handheld electronic guides (also called personal digital assistants or PDAs). These devices have been used for some time in museums and other visitor attractions --- although only to show what could already be seen. In Winchelsea, the idea is to use these ‘E-Guides’ to show what was there in the past. Thus, the ‘Uncover Winchelsea’ project was born.
The final piece in the project was financial support. This was secured from LHI, Defra (Rural Enterprise Initiative) and Intereg IIIa with the advice and support of a local forum for sustainable tourism that brings together Action in Rural Sussex, East Sussex County Council, Hidden Britain, the High Weald AONB Management Unit, 1066 Country, Tourism South East and local businesses. Over £40,000 of funding has been secured.
Who’s involved
The project was originated by the Winchelsea Archaeological Society (WAS) but has been taken forward as a partnership between a wide range of local organisations including the Winchelsea Archaeological Society, St Thomas’s Church, Winchelsea Community Office, Winchelsea Corporation, the Museum, Winchelsea Digital Photography Club, Winchelsea Literary Society, Winchelsea Methodist Chapel, the National Trust, St Thomas’s School, the Winchelsea Town Plan and local businesses. It is doubtful that so many organisations in Winchelsea have ever worked together on one project.
Most of the partners have specific roles. The project is being managed by the Winchelsea Community Office, which is voluntary organisation providing a range of facilities and services to the community, including IT facilities and education. The WAS is responsible for producing the content of the E-Guide and is working closely with Dominic Andrews on the reconstruction. The audio commentary will be produced with the assistance of the Winchelsea Literary Society and children from St Thomas’s School. The Digital Photography Club is taking many of the photographs to be used in the E-Guide. The Methodist Chapel will be staging a reconstruction of one of the events included in the E-Guide: John Wesley’s last open air sermon, which took place in Winchelsea in 1790.
The project
E-Guides have a high-definition screen and high-quality sound. As visitors wander around the Town with one of these devices, microchips hidden at some 30 historic locations will remotely activate the device to show contemporary photographs of buildings at each location. Some of these photographs will then be overlaid by reconstruction of the buildings as they would have looked at an earlier date, giving the visitor a vivid image of historic Winchelsea. The visitor will simultaneously hear an audio commentary about the building set against the history of Winchelsea. Some of the commentaries will be dramatised. The E-Guides will be hired out to visitors at the Winchelsea Community Office, village shop and other locations in the Town.
It is planned to reconstruct about 13 sites, including the Church and the other Town gates. Most of the reconstruction will be of the original medieval buildings or late medieval replacements. However, the Napoleonic period will be covered at Barrack Square and other post-medieval scenes may be included. In addition to buildings, there will be a view of the medieval harbour (from the bottom of School Hill).
Interestingly, the process of producing the reconstructions used in the E-Guide are generating new insights into the history and archaeology of Winchelsea.
Group Name |
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Winchelsea E-Guide Partnership |
| Project Contact |
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Richard Comotto
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| Address |
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Winchelsea Community Office, Castle Street, Winchelsea |
| Project Postcode |
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TN36 4EL |
| Finishing Date |
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September 2006 |
| Local Community Involvement / Partnerships: |
| Winchelsea Archaeological Society, Winchelsea Community Office, Winchelsea Corporation, Winchelsea Digital Photography Club, Winchelsea Literary Society, Winchelsea Methodist Chapel, National Trust, St Thomas's Church, St Thomas's School, Winchelsea Town Plan |
| Grants: |
Heritage Lottery Fund: £22,217
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