Have you ever walked down a street in Barton and wished that you could take a look back through time? Maybe you wanted to step into the Market Place 200 years ago, or walk along the river bank when it was a major hub of industry. Out now, Barton’s new Hidden Histories app brings you as close as you can come to these experiences without a Tardis.

Explore the town

Explore Barton with the help of a GPS based phone map that is focused on the town and its long, winding history. The app will show you that there is literally a historical treasure around every corner in the town and, more than that, it will show you exactly how to get from your location to any of these historical wonders, some of which you may never have even heard of.

Hear the hidden stories

Using audio and video recordings as well as text and images, the app shows us that, while we may enjoy the history that is on show to all, that which is hidden is equally intriguing, if not more. For example, the importance of the Wilderspin National School on Queen Street is known to just about everyone in Barton, but few people are aware that just across the road sat a place of education that became the birthplace of a whole new way of writing.

It was called the Barton Free Charity School. Like the Wilderspin School, it was progressive and charitable, but its own claim to fame is that it provided Sir Isaac Pitman with one of his first jobs, beginning just one of the Hidden History tales revealed by the app.

Pitman became the master of the school at just 19 years old and was still working in the role when he began to create the system of shorthand that won him so much fame. There’s more to it than that, but you’ll have to download the app to find out.

Take a walk into the past

A good guided walk is a great way of bringing the past to life and the Hidden Histories app can double up as a guide in your pocket. The app includes three walks, each focusing on a different area of Barton’s history. The Waterside Walk takes you on a journey through the history of Barton’s ancient water front, where the natural beauty of the River Humber met the industrial power of northern Lincolnshire and its inhabitants. The Victorian History Walk takes you through the lovely 19^th century heart of a town that was thriving during the reign of Queen Victoria at the zenith of the British Empire. Meanwhile, the Georgian History Walk focuses on the century preceding Victoria, taking walkers from early Georgian Baysgarth House to the Old Vicarage and on to finish aptly at the George Inn. Here’s to King George and Barton’s hidden histories!