The Experiencing Britain’s Ruins:Revenants and Remains project has four main aims:
1. To attract new audiences of all ages, from school pupils to adults, to these 5 sites of ecclesiastical ruin through the intriguing theme of ghosts (‘revenants’) and physical and architectural vestiges (‘remains’).
2. To tell the rich, often controversial histories of these sites through the topics of death, burial, ruination, the afterlife and the supernatural, all themes that, though reaching back to the medieval period, have since most often been associated with the Gothic imagination.
3. To enrich and enhance visitors’ experience of architectural heritage at these sites through coordinating a set of on-site interpretations and activities on the theme of ‘Revenants and Remains’.
4. To extend the relevance and applicability of our project beyond the 5 physical sites through the production of digital material of a more general nature, as well as through the hosting of a workshop on the theme of ‘Gothic Tourism / Haunted Heritage’ for professionals working in the heritage sector.
Revenants and Remains
So as to realise these aims, Revenants and Remains comprises the following sets of activities that will be run in-person and virtually between January and December 2022
- On-site youth-engagement activities for 11-25-yr-olds via English Heritage’s Shout Out Loud Initiative
- Guided tours for adult visitors to the 5 chosen sites themed around the topic of ‘Revenants and Remains’
- Creative writing workshops and ghost storytelling at each of the 5 selected sites
- The curation of themed digital content of a more general nature
- The running of a concluding workshop on the theme of ‘Gothic Tourism / Haunted Heritage’ for British heritage professionals.
