App recreates wall which divided medieval Nottingham

A medieval version of the Berlin Wall , which separated Normans and Anglo-Saxons, has been recreated in augmented reality.

Computer experts led by Nottingham Trent University have created an app which shows features which once dominated the city's market square.

The wall dividing the Saxon and Norman boroughs - each with their own laws - stood for 700 years.

The app's creators said they hoped to expand it to produce an interactive guide to the city's hidden past.

The Market Wall - which stood between 1068 and 1727 - was built to define the Norman borough in the south-west, and the Anglo-Saxon borough in the north-east, the team said.

The two boroughs had different laws, sheriffs and administrations, and although the wall divided the two spaces physically, it had several openings and pedestrians were able to pass between the areas freely.

The app, created by the University and Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, also shows a ducking stool.

This was used to punish people - mainly women for having illegitimate children or prostitution - by bonding them to a chair and immersing them in dirty water.

The app also recreates the original market cross, which was traditionally used for public announcements.

Principal investigator Dr Andrea Moneta, from the Nottingham School of Art & Design, said: “The Market Wall is a fascinating and less well known part of Nottingham’s heritage.

“This app will provide people with the chance to learn more about the Market Wall, the Ducking Stool and the Malt Cross, and how Nottingham was in fact a dual city for hundreds of years with French and Anglo-Saxons living side-by-side."