Enhancing the visitor experience at Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey is one of Britain’s most famous heritage sites, but sadly, due to the Dissolution, very little remains today.
Before we started work on the project, visitors would often walk through the grounds unaware of the grand scale or basic layout of the magnificent building that once stood before them.
However, we believed we could help visitors ‘see’ the grand abbey again (and its monk inhabitants!) and so gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of the site and ultimately, a far richer visitor experience.
The Abbey restored
Working in close collaboration with historians and the abbey team, and taking advantage of previous historical and archeological work, we were able to create photorealistic impressions of how the abbey might have looked just prior to the Dissolution, as well as its monk residents, once more bringing the site to life. These were both images and videos.
On-site visualisations
We decided to create on-site signs that show visitors, from their current location, what they might have seen pre-Dissolution.
These have numerous benefits:
Accessible - No screens or digital access required.
Instant value - No having to download an app, or any other initial hurdles.
Visitor-centred and intuitive - The view is designed around where the vistor is standing now.
They also have optional video content, accessed via QR code.
On-site visitor feedback was overwhelmingly positive
‘Brilliant’
'We wouldn't have had a clue how it would have looked otherwise’
‘We didn't know it was one whole building!’
‘Really good - brings it to life!’
Huge positive impact on the abbey’s social media
Typical Glastonbury Abbey posts receive up to 40 reactions.
The post presenting our impressions received over 1,200 reactions, 100 comments and was reshared over 120 times. This was all natural - no paid for boosts.