The Project
Initiated by the Oxford Preservation Trust using Heritage Lottery funding, the requirement was to interpret Oxford Castle’s entire history, given that the modern day site consists of the 18th century prison wings, linked by a massive 19th century prison block, with only St. George’s Tower, the crypt of St. George’s chapel, the castle motte and a few isolated pieces of walling to remind the visitor of its medieval past.The Solution
To engage visitors by “telling the story” of the castle using hand held Personal Media Players to people the buildings and carry the story, while at the same time heightening the atmosphere within the buildings. Real people and real stories are interwoven and interpreted within the actual spaces in which recorded events happened. The whole aim is to unlock the castle’s fascinating military and penal past in an authentic and authoritative way making the most of its unique structures and records.All visitors are provided with the robust and easy to use media players which orientate visitors as they explore the site freely.
The Outcome
Visitors satisfaction exit surveys reflect high levels of customer satisfaction, with specific positive references made to the media players.Based on visitor behaviour statistics dwell time is believed to be as much as 20% longer than equivalent sites without multimedia tour technology.
Oxford Castle are considering a second phase to extend the content reach of the tour in 2008
“Use of the multimedia tour technology has exceeded our expectations, assisting visitors navigation of the site and delivering an excellent customer experience - truly bringing the venue to life We would certainly recommend them to similar venues.
Debbie Dance
Chief Executive of Oxford Preservation Trust”
