Put on your headphones and press play to listen.
Intrigued by the Quaker burial ground discovered during The Corn Exchange renovations, we visited the Friends Meeting House in Brighton to learn more. Warden Terry Byrne provided a copy of Richard S. Harrison’s book, Brighton Quakers, and burial data that allowed us to uncover the identities of those laid to rest at Quakers Croft.
This led us to Grover (1677-1752), the oldest male buried at the New Road burial ground on the Quakers Croft site. He was a shepherd working for the Scrase family who later became a maltster. Grover would inscribe mathematical problems on a wooden shovel used to stir barley, delving into calculations regarding the motion of tides and stars. Self-educated, he eventually became a schoolmaster.
When it came to dramatizing a Quaker burial for the audio experience, we created a tribute to John Grover, incorporating historical facts about his life, poetry, and a section from Quaker Faith and Practice.
The Immersive Networks Heritage XR Audio experience incorporates a diverse range of elements aimed at immersing people in history and instilling curiosity about the heritage of the Corn Exchange and Brighton Dome. In its truest form, it has the potential to take you on a journey around the Royal Pavilion Estate using 5G technology. Today, you will sample the stories in one location.
Firstly, there’s the soundscape, which transports you to a specific time and place. Then, we have verbatim history, providing factual context and informative narratives about the times we are immersing you. Additionally, we employ imagined and dramatized stories, creating a sense of being present in historical moments and igniting a fascination with the past. Lastly, we integrate poetic responses to engage you on an abstract level.
To further enhance the immersion, we use relics from the past. These include copies of the original flyers from the Origin Rave 1994, a pair of vintage skates from the suffragette era, and an old bench that evokes the atmosphere of a Quaker burial in the 1700s.