Online history walks launched in Brighton

Ali Ghanimi, project coordinator for Archives Alive, said: “The nine trails are based on QueenSpark’s newest books, as well as some old favourites. “Each themed walk is generated from the memories of people who have lived, worked or visited Brighton over the past 100 years. “All the walks are digitised, enabling you to follow the route on your web-enabled smartphone or tablet, with historic photographs, texts and audio recordings at the points of interest. “Take a pleasant stroll along the seafront to hear about the West Pier in its heyday and strange things hauled up in fishing nets; discover what it was like to be gay in the 1950s and 60s and what life was like in the city during the War; explore Brighton’s lost theatres, cinemas and shops, and hear from those whose ‘slum’ homes were demolished to make way for Churchill Square; visit the city’s alternative spaces, peek into the terraced homes of the rich and poor, and discover Brighton’s unsung heroes.” Hannah, a volunteer with the project said: “I learned a lot about the history of Brighton’s buildings that I had no idea of before! They will definitely make me see the city differently in the future.” QueenSpark, the UK’s longest-running community publisher, has been documenting and archiving the lives of local people since 1972. The charity’s development director John Riches, said: “No other city in the UK has such a unique people's history as that held by QueenSpark Books. It is testament to the thousands of local volunteers who, over nearly 50 years, have collected these stories – and the hundreds of people that have told them. We're delighted that we can now make this history freely available to locals and tourists to access as they walk around the city.” The walks are available from the book publisher’s website and can be accessed from this link: https://queensparkbooks.org.uk/discover-brighton/ “The walks form part of QueenSpark's Archives Alive! project, which is supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, and we thank the players for their support.”