News

Step into the past with HistoryScapes

A visitor stood outside the mill at Quarry Bank looking at her mobile phone — A visitor enjoying the new HistoryScapes app | © Anna Chrystal

The HistoryScapes app lets you travel to 1823 and explore Quarry Bank with a young mill apprentice. Across 8 sites the app immerses you in the remarkable story of this cotton mill during the industrial revolution

HistoryScapes top tip

It may be quicker to download the app before arriving on site, as Wi-Fi is limited at Quarry Bank.

Quarry Bank is one of a small group of National Trust properties chosen to participate in this pilot project, alongside Surrey Hills, Hindhead, and Saltram. Developed in partnership with the University of Exeter, HistoryScapes aims to help visitors explore historic landscapes and learn more about the history of the places cared for by the National Trust. The pilot is part of the National Trust’s ambition to improve access to history, heritage, and nature

Set during the Industrial Revolution, HistoryScapes delves into several fascinating themes:

Cotton mills such as Quarry Bank are transforming the country, creating new industrial landscapes and new ways of working based on the factory system. At 16, Frank Scott has been swept up in these changes. As one of the mill’s apprentices, poor children sent from England’s workhouses, Frank has a roof over his head and he’s learning a trade - but there's no pay, the hours are long, and he must remain an apprentice until he’s 21.

Today, Frank has a special job, taking a new arrival on a tour of the property. Join him and discover what life was like for the children of the mill in the early nineteenth century.
Using the HistoryScapes app is easy:

Download the app: Head to your app store and download the HistoryScapes app, or scan the QR codes at Visitor Reception. It is advised to download the app on your home Wi-Fi before your visit, as you there is no public Wi-Fi at Quarry Bank. You can download the app from the Google store here* and from the Apple store here*. Once the trail is downloaded onto your phone, there is no further network connectivity required.

Begin the trail: Head to the Mill Yard at Quarry Bank (What3Words: ///riverside.animate.drummers). Launch the app, tap start, and listen to the prologue to begin your journey.

Explore Quarry Bank: The app features a self-guided trail around Quarry Bank. Use the on-screen map to navigate, and the app will automatically notify you when you reach each information point.

Immerse yourself: Join Frank as a child apprentice on a ‘secret’ tour of Quarry Bank.
We’re excited to share this new way of experiencing Quarry Bank and would love to hear your thoughts. Your feedback will help us improve the app and enhance access to heritage and nature for everyone. There is a brief online survey available.

You can find out more information about HistoryScapes here*.

*By clicking this link, you’ll enter a third-party operator’s website. Please see their separate privacy policy on how they handle your data.