City of Wolverhampton Council is encouraging people to take a trip down memory lane through a new digital trail of one of the city's most historic streets.

The Queen Street Digital Trail is part of the community engagement and outreach element of the Heritage Lottery Funded Queen Street Townscape Heritage Scheme.

It will be officially launched on Saturday 8 December in a Queen Street exhibition event at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

The trail comprises audio guides to some of the street's historic buildings, many of which date back to the early 19th century.

There is also a family version of the trail, with friendly characters who might have lived and worked on this important street.

The digital trail is online and accessible on smart phones, tablets, or any browser - by visiting Type=links;Linkid=11320;Title=Wolverhampton Digital trails;Target=_blank;.

The 'web app' also includes images and a video of 3D models, created by University of Wolverhampton students, of some of the historic buildings.

The guides draw on research conducted by Friends of Wolverhampton Archives and the Queen Street project volunteers - the results of which have been published in a series of booklets that can be downloaded at Type=articles;Articleid=8505;Title=Heritage appreciation - heritage trails and publications;. Hard copies will also be printed for the Archives, city libraries, contributors, Queen Street partnership members and other stakeholders.

The Townscape Heritage Scheme is backed by a grant of £864,100 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The council has also committed £250,000 of match funding to the overall project as part of its wider regeneration plans and £1.1 million will come from investment by the owners of the buildings who receive grants.

The scheme makes generous provision for the repair and enhancement of historic buildings, providing grants of up to 85% towards these works.

Councillor John Reynolds, Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: "As a council, preserving the rich heritage and conservation areas in the city is as important to our regeneration plans as the millions of pounds being invested in new development.

"This new Queen Street Digital Trail emphasises that and all involved in the project deserve a lot of credit for what they have produced.

"In terms of the overall scheme, we will continue to work closely with the property owners, tenants, and our project partners, to develop proposals.

"This will help breathe new life into the area and its businesses, while at the same time staying true to the history of these wonderful buildings in our city."

The Townscape Heritage Partnership includes the Wolverhampton Business Improvement District (BID), the Wolverhampton Civic and Historical Society, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton Cultural Arts Organisation, Wolverhampton Partners in Progress, Wolverhampton Society of Architects, The Friends of the Archives, Wolverhampton Building Regeneration Preservation Trust and Wolverhampton College.

The video of the 3D models can be viewed below.

Type=scripts;<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cuePEqCYJZw" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

  • released: Wednesday 5 December, 2018