New visitor app for Blenheim Palace
Visitors to Blenheim Palace can now enjoy personally tailored tours, thanks to a new state of the art app, ‘Archie – your interactive guide’, named in honour of the Palace’s former Administrator and first Chief Guide, Archie Illingworth, who worked there from 1950 to 1972, and retired after the death of the 10th Duke.
The new multimedia platform has been created through Culturati, a groundbreaking Horizon Europe RIA project, for which Blenheim is the UK pilot site.
‘Archie – your interactive guide’ allows visitors to choose exactly what they would like to see and hear, and allows them to delve into over 300 years’ worth of stories – many of which have never been told before – with several of the narratives shared directly by staff members, giving authenticity and depth to the cultural heritage experience.
Some of the fascinating stories contained within the interactive guide include:
- Learn how the Long Library was used as a convalescence hospital during World War I, for soldiers recovering from a variety of ailments and injuries, from gunshot and shrapnel wounds, to shock, pneumonia, and dyspepsia
- Hear how the grounds of Blenheim Palace were used during World War II to test the guns on Spitfire fighter aircraft
- Imagine what it was like as Archie Illingworth shares his own memories of welcoming the House of Dior to Blenheim in 1954, for the first of two fundraising fashion shows organised by the 10th Duchess in aid of the Red Cross
The app not only harnesses cutting-edge digital technologies to deliver personalised content; it also uses sophisticated sensors at Blenheim Palace to monitor and manage visitor flow, helping to optimise the guest experience through strategic crowd management.
David Green, Head of Innovation at Blenheim Palace, who is also Culturati Project Manager, commented: “It is a real honour for Blenheim Palace to be the UK pilot site for this unique collaboration, which retells stories using the latest digital technologies with elements of AI.
“This innovative initiative aims to revolutionise how cultural heritage and arts content is collectively created and shared across Europe. With the more traditional audio guide, our visitors were able to listen to a description of what they saw before their eyes – and that description would be the same for everyone. With ‘Archie – your interactive guide’, every visitor can enjoy a bespoke, unique experience.”