English Heritage releases VR experience with University of Kent
Postgraduate students at the University of Kent have partnered with English Heritage to launch a world-first for the historical society: a virtual reality tour of St Augustine's Abbey. The building, one of the most significant monasteries in medieval England, will be digitally restored to its 16th-century glory for visitors using Oculus Rift headsets. Heritage sites "provide an ideal vehicle for students to develop critical and analytical skills in understanding the spaces they create," said Howard Griffin, University of Kent Programme Director and MA Architectural Visualisation.

Visitors to St Augustine's Abbey will be able to experience medieval England in virtual reality from this weekend.

In an English Heritage first, the virtual reality experience 'rebuilds' significant parts of the abbey, enabling visitors to view the ornate buildings as they would have looked in the early 16th century.

Visitors will sit in a 'pod' and use Oculus Rift headsets to experience the virtual tour.

The project is part of a collaboration between English Heritage and the University of Kent. Postgraduate students have spent four years alongside the charity's historians and curators to research and develop the content.

University of Kent Programme Director and MA Architectural Visualisation, Howard Griffin said:

'This exciting project has been an integral part of my students' work over the past four years.

'Heritage sites like St Augustine's Abbey, and their obvious absence of 'concrete' buildings to reference, provide an ideal vehicle for students to develop critical and analytical skills in understanding the spaces they create. It highlights the many ways in which their digital skills can be applied.'