Fort William - 1745

Fort William - 1745

Culture,Intangible Heritage

A collaborative project with the West Highland Museum, one of the oldest museums in the Highlands. Fort William is a town in the western Scottish Highlands, on the shores of Loch Linnhe. Despite the Jacobites outnumbering the Fort Garrison, the siege on the Fort during the Jacobite rising of 1745 was unsuccessful. Later, the Fort served as a disembarkation point for those travelling to America as a result of the Highland Clearances. The fort was sold by the War Office in 1864, and the barracks within the fort were converted into tenant houses. This was later followed by compulsory purchase by the North Railway Company in the late 19th century. Gradually, the fort was demolished in the early to mid-20th century, with the remaining walls being knocked down in 1975.

reconstructions

2022/23

Reconstruction

1492

In Copyright (InC)

current,56.821445442221616,-5.107687711715699;

https://northernheritage.org/forwilliam/vtour/tour.html

Open Virtual Worlds Team University of St Andrews

TEXT

https://www.trove.scot/place/23715

Firstly, a digital landscape was created using survey data and height maps. Following extensive historical research and collaboration with specialists, 3D models are created and imported into UNREAL Engine (a cross-platform game engine for creating virtual worlds). Models are textured, scaled, oriented and assembled. Scenes are created and populated with appropriate objects, including furniture and artefacts. Landscapes populated with flora and fauna. Weather settings and atmospheric lighting. Clothing and characters researched, created, imported and animated.

The old fort (An Gearasdan) in Fort William was well placed as a strategic stronghold. It lies at the joining of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil. An original wooden fort, known as Inverlochy Fort, was built in 1654 by General George Monck (Cromwell’s Commander-in-Chief in Scotland). It was replaced with this stone fort in 1690 under the direction of General Hugh MacKay of Scourie.

West Highland Museum

Sarah Kennedy, Iain Oliver, Lucy Hardie, Perin Westerhof Nyman, Kamila Oles. Alan Miller.

1745