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College News
19 July 2005
Thames Memories are brought
to life by an award-winning audio walk
A Geography PhD student from Royal Holloway, University of London, has launched a unique audio walking tour of two contrasting stretches of the river Thames, exploring London's hidden history and intriguing pieces of the river's cultural past.
The Memoryscape audio walk, created by Toby Butler as part of his ongoing PhD research project, provides the listener with a fascinating account of people's experiences of living and working along the river and has benefited from collaboration with the Museum of London and the Economic & Social Research Council. The tours encourage people to look at parts of London in a different way, discover areas that tend to be forgotten and learn about the very colourful characters and stories that the Thames has to offer.
Using rare recordings from the Museum in Docklands archives as well as new interviews, Toby Butler has devised an audio CD and downloadable MP3 tour, which uncovers the heritage of two routes. One walk takes in the scenery of West London from Hampton Court to Kingston; the other in East London from the Cutty Sark to the Millennium Dome.
The tours, which are designed to be played on a personal stereo, consist of sounds, interviews and archive recordings, which chart a century of social history. The double CD comes with a fold out map and guide which will allow users to take a tour of London's fascinating river at their own pace. The more computer-literate listeners can also download the tours onto i-pods and personal MP3 players.
The idea for the West London tour came to Toby whilst he was living in a houseboat on the river. To explore the history of the Thames and the people who live on or around it, he created a raft, which he set loose on the current; wherever it landed Toby would speak to someone about the history of that specific spot. What emerged was an original patchwork of histories and tales that are recounted on the CDs. Of the 35 voices on the recording, listeners can hear from a lock keeper, a boat dweller and a Swan Master as they recount their lives and journeys on this very scenic part of England.
The route from Greenwich to the Millennium Dome unravels the history of London's Docklands, once the busiest docks in the world with a 100,000 strong workforce. The walk is narrated by former dockers and merchants who inhabited the forgotten industrial landscape of the Greenwich peninsular. Avoiding the well-known tourist attractions, Toby was more interested in the history of the workers, the more subtle landmarks of East London and their hidden history. Many of the voices heard are taken from a unique collection of 200 interviews with dock workers gathered twenty years ago when the London docks fell into disuse, which is now stored at the Museum of London.
"The walks can be done by foot, boat, bicycle or wheelchair', says Toby Butler, creator of the audio walks." The participant is in control of how they move through the riverscape and unlike most walking tours, you can do it at your own pace. The audio walks are constructed out of the alternative histories of a variety of Londoners who have experienced the Thames in dramatically different ways. Hearing their own voices while you walk is an exceptionally powerful way to explore the recent history of the river."
The project recently won a WestFocus 'Bright Ideas' competition which had entries from over 600 students across London and the South East. Toby Butler was presented with a £1,000 prize by inventor Heinz Wolff at a ceremony at the University of Westminster.
The double CD and map booklet are for sale at £6.99 from the Museum of London or mail order from the website at www.memoryscape.org.uk, where the recordings can also be downloaded for use on an Mp3 player for free.
ENDS
Note to the Editor
The Department of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, has a national and international reputation for teaching and research, placing it in the top four UK geography departments. It received the top ranking of 5* at the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise and as one of the largest graduate schools in geography, has 50 PhD and 35 Masters students. Photographs can be downloaded from www.memoryscape.org.uk
For press information and
photographs contact Royal Holloway, University of London Press Office:
Anne Uttley on 01784 443967 a.uttley@rhul.ac.uk
or
Naomi Weston on 01784 414480 naomi.weston@rhul.ac.uk
