The Buckingham Community Heritage App Project
Buckingham Town Council has received a grant of £10,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a Community Heritage App based in Buckingham. This exciting project has been developed with input from children and residents in the town and will be a fun interactive way to explore Buckingham and learn more about the town’s history.
Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players the project will enable residents and visitors to learn more about common landmarks like the Old Gaol and Chantry Chapel; as well as the hidden history of Buckingham and the Royal Family, Doctor De’ath, leather boots for circus elephants and duck races. To unlock historic photographs and earn points users will have to race around the town, visiting real locations and spotting the evidence of Buckingham’s historic past.
Buckingham Town Council has developed this project via its Economic Development Working Group which aims to support and develop the long term economic health of the town through town planning and increasing public pride and knowledge of the town. The app will encourage users to walk or cycle around the town, improving knowledge of paths and promoting visiting the historic Town Centre, riverside parks and other heritage locations further afield.
Councillor Mike Smith, Chair of the Economic Development Working Group said “This is great news for Buckingham, and thanks to the National Lottery we shall be able to introduce a completely modern approach to displaying and steering local residents and our many visitors around our numerous heritage sites. We are very grateful for the support of the National Lottery in this project, and look forward to welcoming some of its many players once the App has been developed.”
Thanks to this National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, Buckingham Town Council and the work of local developer Mark Vanstone, from TechnoVisual, young people at both The Buckingham School and the Royal Latin School will be able to take part in the creation of their very own app from market research, coding and testing to launch, a fantastic learning opportunity – all while engaging with their Buckingham heritage.
“It’s nice to be involved in a project as big as big as this, I’d like to have a future career in cyber security.” Faye, from the Royal Latin School
“I thought it was a good opportunity to try something new and stretch my boundaries, which I’ve been doing more at secondary school.” “Kids often use things that are fun, and if you use this app you aren’t just having fun you’re learning about history too. Kids are on their phones all the time and this way they’re doing something educational too.” William and Chloe-Isabell, from The Buckingham School
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.