The Bognor Regis Time Portal is a site-specific augmented reality cultural heritage experience located on the south coast of England that opened to the public on March 29, 2024. It is free to use and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Since opening it has had 17,000+ visitors, and It will be in place for 18 months.
Using their smartphones, users can literally step back in time to experience aspects of life on the beach in the 19th century. In augmented space they will encounter digital twins of the wooden bathing machines that once lined the beaches, allowing Victorian bathers to protect their modesty. There is also a three-dimensional talking avatar created using volumetric video of a remarkable woman from that period.
Mary Wheatland was a bathing machine proprietor, swimming teacher, and lifesaver who is credited with saving over thirty people from drowning in the sea during the sixty years she worked on the beach. The project was launched to coincide with the centenary of her death in 1924.
1903
2024
Historical accuracy was very important, so working closely with local historians we recreated our scene with laser scans taken from real-life examples in local museums.
Our costume-maker went to great lengths to recreate Mary's costume. We think you'll agree that the resemblance is uncanny!
Check out the project website for full details and follow our socials to see our BBC TV, radio and online press coverage with interviews with our creative director Matt Reed.
The project was funded by an Arts Council England project grant, and with money secured from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We worked closely with the Bognor Regis Business Improvement District (BID) to manage the whole project and have seen a marked increase in footfall to the area, with approximately 6,000 visitors in the first month after opening. We expect to see a further rise across the two summer season that the installation will be in place.
Partners involved in the project
Photo credits for Mary Wheatland images:
(Left) National Archives, Catalogue ref: Copy 1/465
(Right) Fiona Elizabeth Photography
We're thrilled to have made it to the final of the Auggie awards 2024 in the Best Art or Film Category.
