Contains Art - Artists' studios and Exhibition Space

WATCHET PAPER MILL QTVR

Prior to its closure in December 2015, Wansbrough Mill had been the lifeblood of employment in Watchet, West Somerset, for over 250 years. Its presence in the town helped to define the identity of a place in which people have always made and created. This virtual tour captures the Mill as it was in 2015, weeks before its closure.

Use the aerial map to find your location in the Mill, or navigate through each room by following the animated hotspots. Each location is named by the machinery or processes that took place inside, as they were known to the workers of the Mill.

The tour can be viewed on desktop, mobile, tablet or virtual reality headsets. Either move your cursor through the environment, or move your handheld device in relation to the surroundings (look for the glasses icon in the QTVR menu to set up VR headsets).

Within these locations are links to creative or archival content that were made about, or are related, to the Mill itself. Look for icons throughout the Mill, you will find films, music, photographs, poems and artwork. Explore the industrial heritage of Wansbrough Mill and interact with the legacy of paper making in Watchet.

This tour was part of a wider heritage project by Contains Art that looked to preserve, disseminate and celebrate the story of the Mill, which had defined the identity of the town, doing so while memories were fresh and connections remained strong. The project explored the personal memories of workers; the social impact of its closure and the process of decommissioning. More details can be found at www.containsart.co.uk/Wansbrough

This project was made possible by The Heritage Lottery Fund.

Too many people to mention them all by name have contributed to the many strands of work that have made up the Wansbrough project.

Many have also made important contributions, from Chris Northam, who helped with everything - a fountain of knowledge and heart of gold - to Stephen Bond who shared his 20 + years of heritage expertise to Hazel Barron whose grandfather worked at the Mill and who, along with Kalina Newman, researched and wrote important contributions to the heritage booklet, to all the volunteers from Mary to Loretta to Ann to Mel to Bernie to Ian and a hundred others. We are hugely grateful for all your efforts to keep the memories of Wansbrough alive in Watchet.

Thanks to work of artists who contributed to the content in the QTVR; John Leahy, Alison Jacobs, Kalina Newman, Bill van den Ijssel, Theatre Mélange, Ian Shaw, Joel Tait, Rosie-May Giblett, Tim Richmond, Elizabeth Roberts, Andy Davey, David Ridge, Bob Cramp, Dot Kuzniar, Glyn Jarrett and Jason Robinson.

View the tour here...

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