Westgate Rising
a self-guided trail, commissioned by
Wakefield Council and Historic England
2021
Westgate Rising
Westgate Rising was designed as part of the cultural programme for Upper Westgate Heritage Action Zone.
Westgate Rising comprises a map featuring photography by Grant Lowe, and an eight-part audio experience, written by Deborah Templeton with music by Jamie Smith and vocal performance by John Britton.
Available on the Love Exploring app, Westgate Rising is also available in an accessible print copy pdf.
The project was produced by arts & culture developed and involved concept design, research and writing, creation of visual, textual and musical materials, and the production of audio files suitable for app media.
Deborah Templeton
Deborah worked with local historical information to create texts which bring to life stories, characters, and events from eighteenth and nineteenth century Westgate. These texts were set in lively theatrical compositions by Jamie Smith, and performed by voice actor John Britton to create engaging, moving, and amusing audio that relays factual information in accessible and entertaining ways.
A sample of these audio files can be accessed on SoundCloud by clicking this orange button.
Grant Lowe
Grant’s detailed architectural photography lures visitors into a closer and more curious relationship with Westgate's historic buildings, revealing features that might be otherwise missed.
Westgate Rising
is peopled by characters from Westgate's radical past, giving a perhaps surprising insight into early examples of Feminism, Abolitionism, and what we would now think of as pro-LGBTQ attitudes.
Westgate Rising
Westgate Rising creates a unified artistic experience across media and in response to place and history. It serves to bring visitors into a neglected part of town, and to inspire an appreciation for overlooked architecture and the stories it harbours.
"Westgate of the kind hearts and the free-thinkers, the wool merchants and the coin clinkers. Westgate with its heart of corn. Rough, ready, radical Westgate.
The noblest street I ever saw."
Deborah Templeton 2021