06/04/2021   |   Lara Band

Invited to contribute to POW! Thanet's Power of Women festival 2021, I devised, wrote and produced this immersive audio trail to give glimpses into the working lives of 19th and early 20th century women in the coastal town of Ramsgate, Kent. Based on the census and other archive material these soundscapes bring to life the stories of people like Elizabeth Shannon, newly widowed mother of nine running a Dining Rooms with her sister, or Harriet Tomson, who for around 20 years was Brewer and Maltster for Tomson's brewery, the oldest brewery in England until its aquisition and closure by Whitbread and Co Ltd in 1968.

You can hear their stories and more by scrolling around the map below and clicking on the pins on the map below. For the full version, with text and images, download the Soundtrails app from Play Store or App Store to your mobile device. After downloading Soundtrails, tap on the three horizontal lines at the top left, select Sandpit and enter the code 16FQ.

It's also best with headphones on - though of course, make sure you look out for traffic if you're following the trail in real life....

Thanks to Grace Conium, Ellie Williams, Tijana Cvetkovic, Nicky Shreeve, Marian, Louise Davison, Bridget Edgar, Ruth Clasper, Harriet Grey, Deryn Watts and Lawrence Northall for bringing the voices alive.

The Unseen Heard on Soundtrails app

© CITiZAN