Domesday Reloaded finally comes to an end this week.

At the end of last year, to mark the anniversary of the publication, we unveiled a new multi-touch device and a gallery at The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. There’s also one in The Lab at MediaCityUK in Salford (although today and tomorrow it’s visiting London’s Olympia in the Learning Without Frontiers festival – do pop in if you’re passing).

The “Domesday Touch Table” was an exercise in re-presenting old media. It was great to have members of the original team on board because technologically today we are able more fully to realise the vision they had.

It looks and feels very 21^st century – like a massive tablet device with up to four simultaneous users - but everything you see on it was taken from the 1986 Domesday masters, or was submitted for Domesday Reloaded. We stitched together the 23,000-odd 1986 TV-screen-sized map tiles to form a continuous, swipeable map, added in the other layers of map from the original so you can zoom in and out with a gesture, and pinned the TV news archives from the National Disc to their relevant locations. Then of course in every surveyed D-block you can find the 1986 and the 2011 pictures and articles.

I believe it complements the work done on building the Domesday Reloaded website, of The National Archives in looking after the data, and of all the hundreds of thousands of people, across the country of all ages, who had a go last year.

But what have we learned?

Tonight at 9pm on Radio 4, you can hear Prof Danny Dorling’s take on “How Britain has Changed”.

It’s of course impossible to completely describe something like 25 years of history of a whole country in 28 minutes of radio. So we sampled and sipped, and spent time travelling to meet people who submitted their thoughts last year. We argued on trains, stood around on pavements and wrangled in cabs. It was difficult. But everywhere we went we were charmed, welcomed and surprised.

The resulting programme is a mere taster of the differences, and the similarities, in our society’s perception of its past, in some very varied areas and circumstances.

Peter Armstrong always suggested the Domesday Project should be laid down like a fine wine; that it would increase in value with age.

Thanks again to everybody who enjoyed a snifter this time.

I, for one, can’t wait to find out how it tastes in another 25.

Not many of these exist.

25 years ago this week the "Domesday System" was finally unveiled and put on the market. Here's a scan of the BBC's in-house paper Ariel's article from that week.

If you search on the National Disc for "Acknowledgements" you get a 47-page list of credits which I share below. I still find it completely amazing how many people were involved. And then of course, there's the famous last paragraph of page 47...

To all of you, thank you.

Happy Birthday Domesday.

           ___________________________     

Credits and Acknowledgements     Page 1 of 47
 
             THE  DOMESDAY PROJECT          
           ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & CREDITS       
                                            
       The BBC Domesday Project Team was    
       made up as follows:                  
                                            
      Editor : Peter Armstrong              
      Assistant Editor : Mike Tibbetts      
      Technical Project Manager : Roger Kelly
      Business Manager : Jane Charlton      
                         Bernard Doe        
      Data Services Manager : David Lee     
      Picture Editor : Ruth Rosenthal       
      Text Editor : Madeleine Kingsley      
      Social Science Subject Specialist :   
      Stewart Atkins                        
      Environment Subject Specialist :      
      Richard Tapper                        

                                       Page 2 of 47
 
      Culture Subject Specialist :          
      Susan Boyd-Bowman                     
      Geography Subject Specialist  :       
      Dr. Helen Mounsey                     
      Video Disc Producer : Andy Finney     
      Indexer : Katherine Dawson            
      Information Officer : Amanda Wood     
      Education Officers : Phyllis Gove     
                           Bob Salkeld      
                           Charley Loveland 
      Education Administrative Co-Ordinator 
                           Valerie Barrett  
      Education Assistants :Sarah Haybittle 
                            Shona Murray    
                            Stephanie Godfrey
                            Tom Walker      
      Education Clerk : Paul Hughes         
      Film and Videotape                    
               Research  : Penny Cowell     
      News Consultant    : Ken Callaway     
      Picture Assistants : Melanie Earnshaw 
                           Joanne King      

                                       Page 3 of 47
 
                           Robert Hodges    
                           Sally Young      
                           Elaine Cappas    
                           Susan Hoyal      
                           Ann Jacob        
                           Gary Willis      
                           Tom Walker       
      Research Assistants : Julia Seidenwerg
                            Nury Vittachi   
      BBC Enterprises :    David Pryke      
                           John Harrison    
                           Peter Ballard    
                           Miranda Curtis   
                           Ian Duncan       
      Project Analysts : Ray Shaw           
                         Jenny Saunders     
      Analyst Programmer : Trevor Wood      
      Trainee Programmer : John Dusting     
      Graphic Designers : Rowland Morgan    
                          Haydon Young      
                                            
                                            

                                       Page 4 of 47
 
      Graphics and Photography,             
      Open University Production Centre :   
                          Sue Dix           
                          Jane Fielder      
                          Richard Baker     
                          Eamon Addison     
                          Maria Wood        
                          David Amy         
                          Peter Kerslake    
                          Steve Pirnie      
      Video Tape Editors: Peter Mathison    
                          Albert Bourne     
             Telecine  : Geoff Powell       
      OUPC Engineering : Alan Cathie        
                         Brian Sloam        
                         Peter Cole         
                         Patsy Roberts Powell
                         Debbie Purkiss     
                         Jim Harris         
                         Paul Chew          
      Project Engineer  : Tom Wakes         

                                       Page 5 of 47
 
      Designs Department, Engineering :     
                          David Kitson      
                          John Astle        
                          Jim Day           
                          John Stephenson   
                          Simon Auty        
                          Colin Malone      
      Copyright Department : Tom Rivers     
                             Vanessa Levy   
      Copyright Assistant :  Rachel Marchant
      General Assistant, Text : Joanna Ralph
      Research Assistant, Social Sciences : 
                              Marcus Raynor 
      Research Assistant, Environment  :    
                              Sandy Hammond 
      BBC Publications Designer :           
                              Rachel Hardman
      Music : Jonathan Gibbs, BBC           
              Radiophonic Workshop          
      Project Technicians : Nigel Millichap 
                            Dave Jennings   
                            Mark Thompson   

                                       Page 6 of 47
 
                            Alan Bright     
                            Kip Herring     
                            Philip Pauling  
      Receptionist : Fiona Bambrough-Stott  
                     Shona Murray           
                     Fiona Hynd             
      Secretaries :  Clare Puxley           
                     Kerry Cooper           
                     Eva Czerniecka         
                     Gurdip Sidhu           
                     Marian Hardie          
                     Anita Cannon           
                     Barbara Richardson     
                     Ruth Dyson             
                     Suzanne Ryan           
                     Heather Jackson        
                     Sarah Hubbard          
                     Maureen Wilson         
                     Tania Lindon           
                     Mandy Jane Baker       
                     Gillian Shearing       
                     Janice Gardiner        

                                       Page 7 of 47
 
                     Susan Blackman         
      Data/text typists:                    
                     Annette Dillon         
                     Josephine Tierney      
                     Kay Commer             
                     Sabrina Straker        
                     Sandra Walsh           
                     Laura Robling          
                     Jane Salisbury         
                     Suzanne Stelzer        
                     Roselette Brown        
      Proof Readers : Mary Finney           
                      Patricia Mowbray      
                      Melanie Bloomfield    
                      Judy Batchelor        
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            

                                       Page 8 of 47
 
       The following worked as full or      
       part-time partners with the BBC:     
                                            
       At ESRC, Data Archive,               
       University of Essex:                 
      Prof. Howard Newby                    
      Eric Tannenbaum                       
      Eric Roughly                          
      Philip Holden                         
      Kevin Bales                           
      Fiona Newall                          
      Anne Hockey                           
      Nigel Walford                         
      Cherry Good                           
      Eileen Clucas                         
      Christine Wilkinson                   
      Randy Banks                           
      Mel Reed                              
                                            
       At Birkbeck College,                 
       University of London:                
      Prof. David Rhind                     

                                       Page 9 of 47
 
      Dr. Helen Mounsey                     
      Nick Green                            
      Vince Andrews                         
      Janette Colclough                     
      Martin Higgins                        
      Sara Finch                            
      Laurie Baker                          
      Ruth Hartley                          
      Rob Kemp                              
      Tamsin Willcocks                      
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            

                                       Page 10 of 47
 
       At the Centre for Urban and Regional 
       Development Studies,                 
       University of Newcastle:             
                                            
      Professor John Goddard                
      Dr. Stan Oppenshaw                    
      Colin Wymer                           
      Martin Charlton                       
      Mike Coombes                          
      Anne Green                            
      David Owen                            
                                            
       At the Institute of Terrestrial      
       Ecology, Bangor:                     
      Dr. David Ball                        
      Geoff Radford                         
      Mervyn Williams                       
      Sheena Renner                         
      Sally Akroyd                          
      Robert Smith                          
      Jeremy Williams                       
      Barry Wyatt                           

                                       Page 11 of 47
 
                                            
       At Loughborough University:          
      Brian Negus                           
      Ann Irving                            
      Tim Rodgers                           
      Bertil Schou                          
                                            
       At the GeoData Unit, Southampton     
       University:                          
      Dr. Mike Clark                        
      Angela Durnell                        
      Pete Hancock                          
                                            
       At the Geography Department of the   
       University of Sheffield:             
      David Talnage                         
      Steve Black                           
                                            
       At the Open University Statistical   
       Clinic:                              
      Prof. Toby Lewis                      
      Jim Paul                              

                                       Page 12 of 47
 
      Daniel Lunn                           
                                            
       At Liverpool Polytechnic:            
      Des McConaghy                         
      John Mason                            
                                            
       At the Department of Trade           
       and Industry:                        
      Harry Ivy                             
                                            
       At Philips, Eindhoven,               
       The Netherlands:                     
      Jan Geensen                           
      Kees van der Valk                     
      Bram Derksema                         
      Jan van Lier                          
      Steven van Kervel                     
      Joost Vermolon                        
                                            
       At Philips, Hasselt, Belgium         
      Jos Kea                               
      Harry Simons                          

                                       Page 13 of 47
 
                                            
       At Philips, UK:                      
      James Dunkley                         
      Jonathan Schenck                      
      Russell Ixer                          
      Vic Whiting                           
      Gerry Harrison                        
      Pam Ladd                              
                                            
       At Acorn Computers Ltd:              
      Chris Curry                           
      John Horton                           
      Chris Turner                          
      David Bell                            
      John Tait                             
      Valerie Holt                          
                                            
       From Logica UK Ltd:                  
      Jardine Barrington-Cook               
      Nigel Young                           
      David Freed                           
      Paul Cunnell                          

                                       Page 14 of 47
 
      Elizabeth John                        
      David Hepper                          
      Simon Young                           
      Philip Kao                            
      Chris Jones                           
      Jim Dodkins                           
      John Dabkowski                        
      Dorothy Briggs                        
      Helen Barnes                          
      Alvin Roussel                         
      Amrik Sagoo                           
      Sean Savedra                          
                                            
       At Cap Scientific Ltd:               
      Neil Jerrome                          
      Simon Johnston                        
                                            
       Freelance Computer Scientists:       
      Dr. Martin Porter                     
      Jonathan Griffiths                    
                                            
                                            

                                       Page 15 of 47
 
       CAL Video Graphics Ltd:              
      David Pratt                           
      Lesley Treadwell                      
      Bill Keehner                          
      Trisha King                           
      Peter Kavanagh                        
      Terry Hylton                          
      Marco Guisti                          
                                            
       The following served on an honorary  
       basis as members of the Domesday     
       Editorial Board                      
                                            
      Peter Armstrong (Chairman)            
      Sir John Boreham, formerly Director,  
      Central Statistical Office            
      Prof. Howard Newby, ESRC, Essex       
      University                            
      Prof. David Rhind, Department of      
      Geography, Birkbeck College           
      Prof. John Hey, York University       

                                       Page 16 of 47
 
      Dr. David Ball, Institute of          
      Terrestrial Ecology, Natural          
      Environment Research Council          
      Prof. Ted Wragg, School of Education, 
      University of Exeter                  
      Prof. Peter Hall, University of Reading
      Prof. John Goddard, Centre of Urban and
      Regional Development Studies, Newcastle
      University                            
      Prof. Alan Macfarlane, Dept. of Social
      Anthropology, University of Cambridge 
      Dr. Helen Mounsey (Secretary)         
                                            
       The BBC Steering Committee:          
      Duncan Thomas, (Chairman), Controller 
      Resource Development & Engineering,   
      Television                            
      Bryon Parkin, Managing Director,      
      Enterprises,                          
      Roger Laughton, Head of Daytime       
      Programming Television                

                                       Page 17 of 47
 
      John Radcliffe, Head of the Open      
      University Production Centre          
      Terry Smith, Head of Computer         
      Services, Television                  
      Dick Bates, Chief Accountant,         
      Television                            
      David Kitson, Acting Head of          
      Designs Department                    
      Peter Armstrong, Editor,              
      Domesday Project                      
      John Astle, Head of Designs Department
      Tom Wakes, (Secretary), Project       
      Engineer, Resource Development &      
      Engineering, Television               
                                            
       The Consultative Committee:          
      John Keeble, (Chairman),  BBC         
      Enterprises                           
      John Harrison, BBC Enterprises        
      Peter Armstrong, Editor, Domesday     
      Project                               

                                       Page 18 of 47
 
      Mike Tibbetts, Assistant Editor,      
      Domesday Project                      
      Harry Ivy, Department Of Trade and    
      Industry                              
      James Dunkley, Philips                
      Gerry Harrison, Philips               
      John Horton, Acorn                    
      Christopher Curry, Acorn              
                                            
       The Technical Review Committee:      
      David Kitson, (Chairman), Designs     
      Department, BBC                       
      John Astle, (Chairman), Designs       
      Department, BBC                       
      Roger Kelly, Domesday Project, BBC    
      Andy Finney, Domesday Project, BBC    
      Mike Croll, Research Department, BBC  
      John Tait, Acorn Computers            
      Chris Turner, Acorn Computers         
      Kees van der Valk, Philips Eindhoven  
      Bram Derksema, Philips Eindhoven      
      Jan Geensen, Philips Eindhoven        

                                       Page 19 of 47
 
      Jonathan Schenck, Philips UK          
      Jan van Lier, Philips Eindhoven       
      Steven van Kervel, Philips Eindhoven  
      Joost Vermolon, Philips Eindhoven     
      Jardine Barrington-Cook, Logica       
      Jim Dodkins, Logica                   
                                            
       The Software Committee:              
      Peter Armstrong, Editor, Domesday     
      Project                               
      Ian Trackman                          
      Richard Millwood, Chelsea College     
      John Tait, Acorn Computers Ltd.       
      Jonathan Schenck                      
      Jonathan Griffiths                    
      Peter Smith, Research Machines Ltd.   
      Paul Saunders, Philips                
      Martin Porter                         
      Jim Paul                              
      Simon Johnson, Acorn                  
      Roger Kelly, Domesday Project         
      Jardine Barrington-Cook, Logica       

                                       Page 20 of 47
 
      Richard Russell, BBC                  
      Michael Grove                         
      Neil Jerrome, CAP Scientific          
      Richard Tapper, Domesday Project      
      Stewart Atkins, Domesday Project      
                                            
       The Education Committee:             
      Prof. Ted Wragg, (Chairman), School   
      of Education, University of Exeter    
      D. Snowshill, Ordnance Survey         
      E. Pilkington, Association of Head    
      Teachers                              
      Keith Anderson, Chief Education Officer
      Gloucester                            
      P Spendlove, Independent Schools      
      Association                           
      R. Hamilton, Chief Executive, North   
      East Education & Library Board        
      R. Mycock, Department of Education &  
      Science                               
                                            
                                            

                                       Page 21 of 47
 
      Arthur DeCaux, Senior Assistant       
      Secretary for Education, National     
      Association of Head Teachers          
      T J Shaw, Department of Education &   
      Science                               
      Ms. J Atkinson, Office of Population  
      Censuses and Surveys                  
      M Harrison, Chief Education Officer,  
      Sheffield                             
      Leslie Clark, Chief Inspector, Scotland
      D. Turner, Department of Education &  
      Science                               
      P. Edmondson, (Calderdale LEA)        
                                            
       The Marketing Committee:             
      Jean Nunn, (Chairman), BBC Enterprises
      Gerry Harrison, Philips               
      Vic Whiting, Philips                  
      Mike Juett, Philips                   
      Peter Ballard, BBC Enterprises        
      Harry Ivy, Department of Trade and    
      Industry                              

                                       Page 22 of 47
 
      Mike Tibbetts, Domesday Project       
      Roger Kelly, Domesday Project         
      Amanda Wood, Domesday Project         
      Bob Coates, Acorn                     
      John Harrison, BBC Enterprises        
      Miranda Curtis, BBC Enterprises       
      Phyllis Gove, BBC Enterprises         
      John Horton, Acorn Computers          
                                            
       We are grateful to the following BBC 
       service departments :                
                                            
      BBC Data (General Manager Richard     
      Hewlett)                              
      Brock House Addressing Unit, BBC      
      Engineering Training Department,      
      Print Unit, Woodnorton, BBC           
      Office Training Department (Manager:  
      Monica Long, Consultant:  Dee         
      Vincent-Day)                          
                                            
                                            

                                       Page 23 of 47
 
      Television Personnel:                 
      Senior Personnel Officer : Judith     
      Parker                                
      Personnel Officer : Margaret Parry    
      BBC Broadcasting Research (Manager :  
      Peter Menneer)                        
      BBC Educational Broadcasting Services,
      Research Unit                         
      Audio Visual Library: John Bodnar,    
                            Luke Finn       
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            

                                       Page 24 of 47
 
       The BBC would like to record their   
       warmest thanks for the contribution to
       and help for the project given by the
       following:                           
                                            
      A.C. Nielsen Co. Ltd.                 
      Agricultural Census Branch, Ministry of
      Agriculture, Fisheries and Food       
      Applied Geochemistry Research Group,  
      Imperial College                      
      Associated Newspapers Ltd.            
      Automobile Association                
      Barratt West Midlands Ltd.            
      British Geological Survey             
      British Market Research Bureau        
      British Trust for Ornithology         
      Business Statistics Office, Newport   
      Central Office of Information         
      Central Statistical Office            
      Chartered Institute of Public and     
      Financial Accountancy                 

                                       Page 25 of 47
 
      CISI-Wharton Econometric Forecasting  
      Associates Ltd.                       
      Council for National Parks            
      Countryside Commission                
      Countryside Commission for Scotland   
      Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
      for Scotland                          
      Department of Agriculture for Northern
      Ireland                               
      Department of Employment              
      Department of Energy                  
      Department of the Environment         
      Department of Transport               
      Duke of Edinburgh's Award             
      Euromonitor Ltd.                      
      English Tourist Board                 
      Environmental and Medical Sciences    
      Division, UKAEA Harwell               
      Express Newspapers Ltd.               
      Fisheries Laboratory, Ministry of     
      Agriculture, Fisheries and Food       
      Forestry Commission                   

                                       Page 26 of 47
 
      Game Conservancy                      
      Girl Guides Association               
      GLC Ecology Unit                      
      The Guardian                          
      Health and Safety Executive           
      Her Majesty's Stationery Office       
      Isle of Man Tourist Board             
      J. A. Storey & Partners               
      Kodak Ltd                             
      Land Applications Working Group,      
      National Remote Sensing Centre,       
      Department of Trade and Industry      
      Landscape Institute                   
      Liverpool Polytechnic Area Information
      Service                               
      Macauley Institute                    
      Manpower Services Commission          
      Medical Research Council, Environmental
      Epidemiology Unit, Southampton        
      University                            
      Meteorological Office                 
      Microelectronics in Education Project 

                                       Page 27 of 47
 
      Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and
      Food                                  
      Ministry of Defence                   
      National Association of Local Councils
      National Association of Round Tables of
      Great Britain and Northern Ireland    
      National Council for Voluntary        
      Organisations                         
      National Farmers' Union               
      National Federation of Women's        
      Institutes                            
      National Federation of Young Farmers  
      Clubs                                 
      National Interactive Video Centre     
      National Radiological Protection Board
      National Trust                        
      National Trust for Scotland           
      Nature Conservancy Council            
      Plant Pathology Laboratory, Ministry of
      Agriculture, Fisheries and Food       
      Office of Population Censuses and     
      Surveys                               

                                       Page 28 of 47
 
      Ordnance Survey of Great Britain      
      Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland   
      Post Office, Letter Operations        
      Department                            
      Regional Newspaper Advertising Bureau 
      RSPB                                  
      Royal Society for Nature Conservancy  
      Rural Community Councils              
      SIA Ltd.                              
      Scottish Association of Young Farmers 
      Clubs                                 
      Scottish Microelectronics Development 
      Programme                             
      Scottish Tourist Board                
      Scottish Women's Rural Institute      
      Scout Association                     
      Soil Survey of England and Wales      
      Sports Council                        
      The Times                             
      Third Age Trust                       
      Wales Tourist Board                   
      Warren Spring Laboratory              

                                       Page 29 of 47
 
      Water Authorities Association         
      Wildfowl Trust                        
      Youth Hostels Association             
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            

                                       Page 30 of 47
 
       Picture Libraries Sources            
                                            
      The Picture Team wish to give special 
      thanks to the following people and    
      organisations for their support and   
      co-operation in supplying a large     
      quantity of photographs covering a wide
      range of subjects:                    
                                            
      Heather Angel/Biofotos                
      ASC London  :  Mike Henrie            
      BBC Central Stills  :  Graham Milloy  
                           & Colleagues     
      Bob Thomas Sports Photography         
      British Tourist Authority Picture     
                                Library     
      COI  -  Terry Mead                    
      Camera Press                          
      Crafts' Council  :  Mary Hersov       
                          Liz Lydiate       
      Design Council  :  Bridget Kinally    
      Format Agency                         

                                       Page 31 of 47
 
      David Hoffman                         
      Eric and David Hosking                
      Network Agency                        
      The Photo Source Ltd                  
      Press Association : Nicholas Kester   
                          John Nuttall &    
                          Colleagues        
      Rex Features  :  Frank Selby,         
                       Paul Brown &         
                       Colleagues           
      Homer Sykes                           
      Universal Press & Pictorial Agency    
                      Ltd  :  Peter Dare    
      Woodmansterne Publications            
                                            
                                            
      Also thanks to:                       
                                            
      A & C Black Ltd : Who's Who           
      Anglia Television                     
      Architectural Association Slide       
      Library :          Andrew Higgott     

                                       Page 32 of 47
 
      Arts Council:      Roger Malbert      
                         Barry Lane         
      Association of Illustrators :         
                         Vicki Roger        
      Animal Photography : Sally Ann and    
                           John Thompson    
      Dr. David Ball - Institute of         
                Terrestrial Ecology         
      Clive Barda                           
      Jonathan Bayer                        
      Clive Bournsell                       
      Lynne and Richard Bryant              
      BBC Photographics : Roger Mead        
      BBC Central Stills Laboratory :       
                 Barry Deamer               
                 Roger Hooper               
                 Mike Kennedy               
                 Mike William               
                 Alf Cole                   
                 Felix Borg                 
                 Ray Brown                  

                                       Page 33 of 47
 
      BBC Reference Library                 
      The British Film Institute, National  
      Film Archive, Stills Library          
      British Geological Survey             
      British Technology Group: W.P. Whiting
      Clive Boursnell                       
      British Home Stores                   
      Burger King                           
      British Aerospace                     
      British Film Year : Keith Hows        
      Central Independent Television        
      Central TV  :      Barry Ledingham    
      Cartoon Gallery  : Pat Huntley        
      Channel Television                    
      Channel 4                             
      Conde Nast Publications Ltd           
      Cranks Health Foods : Daphne Swann    
      Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament      
      College for the Distributive Trades : 
                         Deidre Brook       
      Cinema Theatre Association :          
                         David Jones        

                                       Page 34 of 47
 
      Conran Foundation (Boilerhouse        
      Project)                              
      Camden Graphics                       
      Chris Capstick                        
      Anthony D'Offay                       
      Designers & Arts Directors            
      Association  :  Edward Booth-Clibborn 
      Directorate of Naval Recruiting       
      Directorate of Army Recruiting        
      Christopher Dunkley                   
      Dawn Publications                     
      English Cheese Council                
      Ephemera Society : Maurice Rickards   
      Farmers' Weekly : Diana Shanahan      
      Ffoto Gallery, Cardiff : Sue Beardmore
      Financial Times : Glyn Genin          
      Francis Kyle Gallery                  
      Forestry Commission                   
      Freemans : Lynne Bury                 
      Luke Finn                             
      Guardian : Donald Wintersgill         
      Gordon Fraser Gallery Ltd             

                                       Page 35 of 47
 
      Granada Television                    
      Rod Hackney                           
      Harry Smith Collection                
      Nigel Hepper                          
      HTV Wales                             
      HTV West                              
      Brian Hunt                            
      Habitat : Anne Sayer                  
      Institute of Contemporary Arts        
      ICOREC : Joanne O'Brien               
      ITN                                   
      Juda Rowan Gallery                    
      Kodak : Derek Liley                   
      Peter Kain                            
      Marketa Luskacova                     
      Roger Last                            
      Patrick Lichfield                     
      Lisson Gallery                        
      Littlewoods Organisation              
      London Transport Advertising :        
                           Mike Ingham      

                                       Page 36 of 47
 
      Lynne Franks Ltd, Public Relations    
      Consultants                           
      Landscape Institute                   
      London Weekend Television             
      Derek Muir                            
      Milton Keynes Development Corporation 
      McDonald's Hamburgers Ltd             
      National Museum of Photography :      
                         Colin Ford         
      Newport Survey : Daniel Meadows       
      National Trust : Jenny Hunt           
      Nigel Greenwood Gallery               
      Nikon UK Ltd : Sue Colman             
                     Elaine Swift           
      National Dairy Council                
      Northern Ireland Tourist Board Picture
      Library                               
      National Magazine Company Ltd :       
                   Susanne Van Langenberg   
      Northern Ireland Milk Marketing Board 
      Observer : Jane Bown                  

                                       Page 37 of 47
 
      Photographers Gallery :               
                 Sue Davies                 
                 Zelda Cheatle              
                 John Beveridge             
                 Alex Noble                 
      The Post Office                       
      Portal Gallery                        
      Press Agency (York)                   
      Punch Publications Ltd :              
                 Paula Chesterman           
      Pacemaker Press, Belfast :            
                 Frank Carvel               
      Radio Times  :  Pat Carthy            
                      Jenny Fleet           
      RAF Publications                      
      Rapier Design : Peter Colton          
      Antonia Reeve                         
      RIBA  :  Jackie Clark                 
      Doc Rowe                              
      Royal College of Art Photographic     
      Library                               
      Spitting Images : John Lloyd          

                                       Page 38 of 47
 
      Saatchi Collection                    
      Scottish Arts Council                 
      Brian Shuel                           
      Scottish Tourist Board Picture Library
      Soil Survey of England and Wales :    
                      Robert Evans          
      School of Fashion, Newcastle          
      Polytechnic : Mary Bromley            
      Second Nature                         
      Society of Designer-Craftsmen :       
                       Jane Birkett         
      STV                                   
      Tate Gallery  :  Richard Humphries    
      Derick Thomas                         
      Tesco Stores Ltd                      
      Thames Television                     
      Ian Tilbury                           
      Times Newspapers : Ralph Nodder       
      TSW                                   
      TVS                                   
      Tyne-Tees Television                  
      United Biscuits (UK) Ltd              

                                       Page 39 of 47
 
      Victoria & Albert Museum :            
                       Mark Haworth-Booth   
      Waddington Galleries                  
      Whitechapel Art Gallery               
      Wales Tourist Board Picture Library   
      Wendy Restaurants (UK) Ltd            
      Yorkshire Television                  
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                            

                                       Page 40 of 47
 
       The Following Local Authority        
       Co-ordinators of our schools' survey:
      Avon             P. Gilliat           
      Beds             M. Blakey            
                       D. Taylor            
      Berks            L. Taylor            
      Bucks            S. Tarbox            
      Cambs            C. R. Beresford      
      Cheshire         J. W. Myhill         
      Cleveland        Dr. B. Holley        
      Cornwall         B. L. Boorman        
                       O. Baines            
      Cumbria          J. Mitchell          
      Derbyshire       Dr. F. Jones         
      Devon            J. L. Ralston        
                       D. Sullivan          
      Dorset           M. Baumann           
      Durham           P. Livsey            
      Essex            S. M. Leverett       
      Glos             J. Turtle            
                       G. Mellings          
      Hants            G. Dinkele           

                                       Page 41 of 47
 
      Hereford &                            
      Worcs            J. Foster            
      Herts            D. Sutton            
      Humberside       B. Lewis             
      Isle of Man      R. B. Cowin          
                       M. Barrow            
      Isles of Scilly  R. Arend             
      Isle of Wight    F. Gregory           
      Kent             D. Roots             
      Lancs            C. King, S. Harrison 
      Leics            G. Sparrow           
      Lincs            J. D. Golicher       
      Norfolk          J. A. Scott          
      Northampton      D. Hill              
      N'umberland      D. F. Hume           
      Notts            D. C. Smith          
      Oxford           B. Larkin            
      Shropshire       J. Ravenscroft       
      Somerset         J. Rose              
      Staffs           D. R. Adams          
                       M. J. W. Rogers      
      Suffolk          D. G. Penrose        

                                       Page 42 of 47
 
      Surrey           P. Richardson,       
                       D. Clark             
      E. Sussex        P. J. O. Taylor      
      W. Sussex        K. C. Leslie         
      Warwicks         S. Wilson            
      Wilts            E. Larkin            
      N. Yorkshire     R. H. Jones          
                       B. Ives              
      Barking/Dag      B. Wigg              
      Barnet           M. Thorne            
      Bexley           S. J. Waller         
      Brent            J. Lewandowski       
      Bromley          D. Carter            
      Croydon          K. H. Randell        
      Ealing           J. Doran             
                       S. Haddon            
      Enfield          R. Dunhill           
      Harrow           A. Dark              
      Havering         J. B. Thomas         
      Hillingdon       R. J. Wales          
      Hounslow         P. Askew             
      Kingston-upon                         

                                       Page 43 of 47
 
      Thames           W. H. Johnson        
      Morden           S. Holmes            
      Newham           K. Jones             
      Redbridge        S. Black             
      Richmond         A. Graham            
      Sutton           A. Wenam             
      Waltham                               
      Forest           J. Hobson            
      I.L.E.A.         E. Wackett           
                       B. Weaver            
      Bolton           R. Bradburn          
      Bury             B. P. Hardman        
      Manchester       R. Hertzog           
                       N. Waller            
      Oldham           G. Royle             
      Rochdale         R. Branwell          
                       D. Cavener           
                       R. Blows             
      Salford          J. P. Langley        
      Stockport        K. A. Hayhurst       
                       B. Walker            
      Tameside         J. Heywood           

                                       Page 44 of 47
 
      Trafford         A. E. Jaycock        
      Wigan            E. Steed             
      Knowsley         G. Hall, J. Fletcher 
      Liverpool        T. D. Girvan         
      St. Helens       J. H. Whittaker      
      Sefton           M. Cook              
      Wirral           C. A. Humphries      
      Gateshead        L. Turnbull          
      Newcastle        C. Winlow            
                       N. Elliot            
      N. Tyneside      G. B. Thornton       
      S. Tyneside      R. Sanderson         
      Sunderland       J. Watson            
      Birmingham       P. Archer            
                       F. C. Wiseman        
      Coventry         B. Rayson            
      Dudley           Rev. G. Hodgson      
      Sandwell         P. Beard             
      Solihull         Dr. D. C. Woods      
      Walsall          J. Miller            
      Wolverhampton    G. Warner            
                       G. Boon              

                                       Page 45 of 47
 
      Barnsley         Dr. M. L. Jefferson  
      Doncaster        R. Dain              
      Rotherham        S. Hardwick          
      Sheffield        B. Greasley          
                       B. Steven            
      Bradford         J. Corn              
                       E. Sargeant          
      Calderdale       T. Scratcherd        
      Kirlees          J. Morgan            
      Leeds            J. Plummer           
      Wakefield        P. Buttle            
                       I. Rees              
      Belfast          M. Montgomery        
      N.E.  ELB        W. Smyth             
      S.    ELB        J. P. A. McKeown     
      S.E.  ELB        T. Morwood           
                       B. Pope              
      W.    ELB        M. Hill              
      Clwyd            T. C. Davies         
      Dyfed            R. J. Williams       
      M. Glamorgan     T. G. L. Hopkins     
      S. Glamorgan     M. Cook              

                                       Page 46 of 47
 
      W. Glamorgan     W. Weston            
      Gwent            I. Lewis             
      Gwynedd          G. Roberts           
      Powys            D. Davies            
      Jersey           Dr. J. Renouf        
                       J. Le Boutillier     
      Guernsey         R. Couch             
                       G. Le Huray          
      Borders          J. Forsyth           
      Central          D. M. Dickie         
      Dumfries and                          
      Galloway         T. L. Gilmour        
      Fife             D. S. Mackay         
      Grampian         H. K. Wray           
      Highland         A. Sharland          
      Lothian          G. Wilson            
      Orkney           Dr. G. Marshall      
      Shetland         G. W. G. Burgess     
      Strathclyde:                          
        Argyll/Bute    D. Martin            
        Dumbarton      R. Taylor            
        Glasgow        E. Allister          

                                       Page 47 of 47
 
        Ayrshire       M. Tinning           
        Lanark         G. R. Gardner        
        Renfrew        J. Graham, M. Brennan
        Tayside        C. Kiddie            
                       C. Milne             
                       J. S. Johnstone      
      Western Isles    D. Mackay            
                                            
       And final thanks to around one million
       volunteers, mostly from primary and  
       secondary schools, for all the local 
       survey work.                         
                                            
           ___________________________       

On the 31st October it's time for us to close Domesday Reloaded to updates and new submissions. This means that from that date you'll be unable to send us pictures, text entries or comments for your area. We're doing this to mark the end of the 2011 project and to enable The National Archives to capture the site and preserve the data  - thus ensuring that it will be available to future generations.

(Don't worry, Domesday Reloaded will still be available to browse on the BBC for a good while yet). 

So whilst there's still time, make your mark on this fascinating record of our collective history and send us an update!

Also, which picture do you think we should we leave on the front page when we stop updating the site?

Suggestions for your favourite image from Domesday Reloaded are most welcome...

 

On Radio 4 today from 12.45 we heard Sheila Dillon return to her Domesday Square around Hoghton in Lancashire. 

The dairy farm at which she used to work in the holidays, the lack of public housing available since 1986, much has changed in 25 years. While looking for a paper mill and a wine wholesaler listed in Domesday, she runs into a chap who remembers doing the original project at school and now works at a steel foundry.

Yesterday Mark Lawson described what 25 years of supporting Leeds United feels like, whilst tomorrow Paddy O’Connell returns to Aberdeen. Richard Coles and Jane Garvey complete the quintet this week.

Domesday Reloaded: Me and My Square is proving a fascinating series. Do check it out on iPlayer if you can't catch R4 at lunchtimes. You can also see pictures of each trip at the You & Yours site.  

And don’t forget you’ve got until 31^st of October to update Your Square…

Five Radio 4 presenters have returned to their Domesday Squares - those which hold especially mid-eighties significance for them, and have expored the changes (or not) of those neighbourhoods.

I've just enjoyed hearing a long trail for the series - you can catch it on today's You and Yours (probably sometime in the second half, my sources suggest...) and hear of a young Mark Lawson being told off in no uncertain terms for running across wet concrete.

What a picture...

"For more information look up 'Domesday' on the National Disc."

If you do that, you are presented with an essay by the Project's Editor, Peter Armstrong. I present it here as a pdf.

As a moment in the history of media technology I think it's of some importance. What do you think?

It refers to a lot of things on the National Disc which we haven't been able to present as part of Domesday Reloaded.

 The Domesday Discs may be the last to be produced in this way. This is because they are primarily intended as historical records. A comprehensive home and institutional knowledge base kept up to date by datacasting techniques will be a different step, but one that I personally hope that, as a result of the Domesday Project, the BBC and others will want to explore.

If you get a chance this summer, it is well worth getting along to some of the museums and institutions that still have working Domesday systems, and having a nose round the National Disc.

(By the Way, we hope to be able to offer more of the professionally written essays from the National Disc over coming weeks as we approach the culmination of Domesday Reloaded).

This image is not of CUPAR but do you know where it's from?

This picture of CUPAR in Fife from 1986 shows a lovely picturesque seaside town. However, there is a problem with this image. Cupar is around 10 miles away from the sea!

It seems that we made a mistake in '86 and the wrong image has been attached to the caption.

Can you help us identify the image? Do you know where it was taken? We'd like to return it to its rightful d-block.

There’s something wrong with this picture of Old Hunstanton Church:

Old Hunstanton Church as viewed on the 1986 Domesday Disc

Can you spot it?

OK, let’s try an easier one. How about the obvious mistake in this otherwise innocuous 1986 image of the A2 near Dartford in Kent?

(And it’s not true that in 1986 cars in the UK all drove on the right hand side of the road…)

But it is true that both of these photographs on the 1986 Domesday disc are reversed left to right. And it turns out they were not alone.

Several dozen of you have been in touch to let us know of similar sightings on the Domesday Reloaded site. We’ve been wondering what to do about them. As more and more have come to light I think we’ve uncovered something quite interesting about Domesday.

The original images for the Community Disc were sent to the BBC as 35mm colour photographic slides. After selection and ordering all 24,000 were scanned individually onto 1-inch video tape, 1 frame at a time.

But the thing with photographic slides (as anybody who has uncovered a forgotten box of them in the loft can probably testify) is that it’s not always obvious which way round they should go in the projector. And even if the plastic mount round the edges purports to have a front and a back, if they were mounted originally by hand then there’s plenty of room for human error in a programme as massive as Domesday.

So it seems that for one reason or another, or probably several different reasons, some of those pictures on the iconic 1986 laser discs are a mirror image of reality.

But during all the time I’ve spent using the 1986 Domesday system, during all the conversations I’ve had with those originally involved, gearing up for Domesday Reloaded, nobody ever mentioned this.

Perhaps it’s testament to the power of local knowledge and to the intrinsically crowd-sourced nature of Domesday that these few have only come to light this time round? (Domesday HQ could have spotted the cars of course, but realistically not the church…)

But of all the subtle insights Domesday Reloaded is gathering into our changing spaces and lifestyles, of all the things we’re cataloguing about shifting trends and behaviours over the last quarter of a century in our corner of the planet, it’s odd that we might also learn something as simple as this:

It’s comparatively quite hard to accidentally flip a digital photograph back-to-front.

So thanks to all those who’ve pointed these oddities out. We’re going through and submitting reversed (corrected) 1986 pictures as 2011 submissions… do please let us know of any more you spot in your travels…

David Hawgood suited up for Geograph

Many of the 2011 pictures appearing in Domesday Reloaded so far have come from members of the "Geograph" community.

The Geograph project has much in common with the original idea of the BBC Community Disc. David Hawgood, who has contributed some 6000 photographs to that project, here writes of how Geograph members have been helping with Domesday Reloaded today... 

Geograph Britain and Ireland project aims to collect geographically representative photographs and information for every square kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland. Thus it has close parallels with BBC Domesday Reloaded.

Since early 2005, over 10,000 members have contributed almost a quarter of a million images covering over 260,000 grid squares, almost 80% of the total. For each image there is some description or keywords, grid references of subject and photographer, and date taken. There is also a section of map from Ordnance Survey, who sponsor the project.

"As well as being available at http://www.geograph.org.uk/ and the schools site,  images are archived by the British Library, so they should remain available in future by quoting the image number. Images are published under aCreative Commons licence so that users can copy them freely.

"Since the BBC launched the Domesday Reloaded web site some Geograph members have gone out to take photos recreating the Domesday photos. These have been published on the Geograph website and submitted to Domesday Reloaded, and more will appear in future.

"Facilities have been added to Geograph to provide conversion between D-Block number and grid reference.

"A Domesday D-Block is 12 of the National Grid 1km squares, 4km East-West by 3km North-South. The menu bar at the bottom of every Geograph photo page includes "More links for this image". One of those links is "Domesday Reloaded" to the appropriate D-Block page of the BBC site. The Geograph page for a grid square e.g. SK0000 has a similar "More links" item.

"Geograph search facilities now include a D-Block Finder. Entering the D-Block number in the GridRef box displays a Geograph page with photos from the grid squares of the D-Block. For example, entering GB-400000-300000 gives twelve thumbnails from grid squares with SK0000 bottom left.  

"Search facilities in Geograph may also help users of Domesday Reloaded locate the positions of the 1986 photos. You can search by text words and place name. Entering a place name shows all places from a gazetteer including that name, with county, district, borough or equivalent. Entering words from the Domesday Reloaded description may find a photo near the 1986 one. The "More links" from photo pages and grid squares includes links to various maps and aerial views.

"Finally, a note on the relationship between D-Block numbers and the National Grid:

"The D-Block number shows the number of metres East and North from the National Grid false origin. National Grid references give each 100km square a two letter reference for England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. For Ireland the 100km squares have single letter references.

"GB-84000-6000 is in the "bottom left" 100 km square SV of the GB set and stretches North and East from SV8406 in the Isles of Scilly. D-Block GB-400000-300000 is in the Midlands near Walsall with grid square SK0000 at the bottom left of the 4x3 block. D-Block NI-332000-372000 is around Belfast in Northern Ireland with grid square J3272. CI-530000-5476000 is St Peter Port in the Channel Islands - Geograph Channel Islands is separate from Geograph Britain and Ireland and does not have the Domesday links so far."

When I was first asked to look at the material on the Domesday Reloaded site it was a historian's dream come true to discover an archive that had been left untouched for 25 years.

At first I looked up the details of my home town and where I live now which was fascinating. But as I did this the wealth of material that could be used in the classroom became abundantly clear.

To be able to teach the history of a period by examining material produced by children of their age is a unique opportunity for pupils and what made it all the more fascinating is that for many of the pupils in primary school today it was their parents who had completed the original Domesday research.

The material on the site however goes beyond just learning about the history of the 1980s, it enables pupils to develop a real understanding of both the change and continuity of the physical and social geography as well as cultural attitudes within the communities in which they live.

This site is truly addictive because it contains so much local history. There are articles about local customs that relate to events from making Halloween night lanterns from turnips to making Mayday garlands which create an atmosphere of familiarity while discussing specifically local traditions.

The descriptions of people's daily lives will give you a glimpse of a world less rushed where egg on toast is the most common breakfast for dads  and Weetabix is a child’s favourite breakfast.   Interviews with elderly residents provide glimpses of daily life and local history that go back to the 1880s.   As well as searching for places of interest you can search for articles on specific topics that can range from Oatcakes to Olympics.  

Moreover, as both a teacher and a parent it will now be possible for me to prove that I did not go to school in the Victorian era and was never evacuated due to the Blitz. My favourite story is the description of my junior school teacher's daily routine. I was amazed to discover that despite her professional approach to her lessons she still found time to play golf most days after school. This short extract highlighted the immense changes that have occurred in education since the 1980s more than any formal history of education and made both me and my daughter laugh at what would happen if I attempted to do any type of sport between collecting her from school and planning my lessons.

There are articles that relate to most areas of employment which highlight the differences and similarities between occupations in the 1980s and the 21st Century. One article that could have been written today was an interview with a local reporter who talked about the value of newspapers that could be read on the bus or the train unlike other media. The paper still survives although the debate over whether newsprint or digital media is best still continues.

If you look at the lesson plans you will see that we have put together a set of cross curricular lessons aimed at Key Stage 2  (but could also be adapted for use with KS1 and 3)  which we hope will enthuse teachers and pupils about the wonders of this project. It would be amazing if schools and local history groups could be use these as a starting point for creating a new history of their Domesday square so that the children of those in Key Stage 2 today could investigate the wonders of their lives in the future.

(Domesday Reloaded lesson plans and teachers' resources are now available at BBC Learning's Primary History site.)

Article written by Andy Finney

Andy Finney

Producer on the original BBC Domesday Project

The discussion pages on Wikipedia are sometimes more interesting than the articles.

The BBC Domesday Project has its page and, until recently, it included a note about the kinds of online applications we know and love, such as mapping and Google Street View, that had their equivalents in the Domesday Project.

Any mention of the BBC being a red rag to certain Wikibulls, this note was expunged by an anonymous editor who was concerned about "weasel words and no citations to any reference that this project in any way 'led the way' or 'inspired' any present mapping software or service."

This got me thinking. What key 'new' bits of technology were there in, and were we first, and is it possible that the likes of Google were influenced by this? My colleagues will probably come up with a few more (and that's what comments are for) but here's my set.

Mapping

Some Domesday features just grew organically. Once we knew that the UK mapping had to be based on 4 by 3 blocks - the aspect ratio of 1980s TV screens - and there were existing paper maps that allowed us to show 4 by 3 km or 40 by 30 km in that space it seemed logical to allow horizontal and vertical jumps across those maps and to be able to 'zoom' from one scale to another.

It was a simple concept once an algorithm had been developed (my memory says by Dr Martin Porter) and worked by jumping between frames on the disc. Unlike current systems such as Google Maps and MultiMap it was not possible to dynamically render the maps on demand so paper maps for the whole of the UK had to be cut up, joined together where necessary and put beneath a video rostrum camera at the BBC Open University Production Centre in Milton Keynes.

The National Disc allowed users to select sets of data (such as population) and display these overlaid on maps on demand. This also was highly unusual in the mid 1980s, when computers managing statistics still usually occupied a whole air conditioned room and required white-coated acolytes.

Searching

Every photograph and every piece of text was allocated keywords based on a pre-determined vocabulary. This concept was well-established long before the 1980s (and today keywords sit in the invisible headers of every well-structured web page).

Where Domesday pushed the envelope a little was with the way the queries could be entered. We didn't feel that members of the public could (and should be asked to) use boolean logic with this and that but not the other. Dr Martin Porter came to the rescue.

Martin had produced a search system called Muscat early in the decade and had also developed what is now known as the Porter Stemming Algorithm. Stemming is the linguistic method by which your computer system knows that the words 'search', 'searching' and 'searched' actually refer to the same concept.

For Domesday this allowed the text searching to work out what the key words were when a user entered a sentence in the search box. In the original system you can watch as the system extracts the key words from your sentence and counts through the hits it finds on one or more of them.

Stemming in free text searching is used by today's web search engines. You can try it for yourself by putting in different versions of a word and seeing what the search engine returns.

The virtual machine

Whereas my original interactive video experiments had been written in BBC Basic, the Domesday Project required more sophisticated programming, notably to overcome the memory limitations of the BBC Micro and its 8 bit environment.

Fortunately Acorn had published a BBC Micro chip for a language called BCPL, which is often referred to as a forerunner of C, arguably the most influential computer language.

BCPL, which was developed In Cambridge by Dr Martin Richards, was a two-stage system whereby the program would be compiled into what was called CINTCODE (Compiled INTermediate CODE) and a second piece of software, called a virtual machine (VM) ran that CINTCODE on the computer.

In theory you could 'easily' change the VM and run the same code on another computer. Today the virtual machine concept is probably best known in Java. It should be possible to take Domesday's BCPL code and run it on a VM under Windows or Linux or whatever on a modern computer.

This process was used back in the 1980s for the Research Machines version of the Domesday System and to demonstrate Domesday running on an Acorn Archimedes computer.

There are four key reasons why the BBC couldn't just update the BCPL VM to run Domesday now: no source code (the BBC were not given it), translating disc commands such as frame numbers (for images) into file names, working around a few bits of the code that relied on the word size (number of bits) in the original system ... and the cost of doing the first three. Besides, even if this were achieved it would produce a stand-alone Domesday system, rather than the web-based one that the Reloaded team have made.

Virtual Reality

The Domesday team were aware of an interactive video project made around 1978-80 at the American University MIT which enabled a user to take a virtual trip around Aspen Colorado. It was called the Aspen Moviemap.

The MIT team used a specially-rigged car (not unlike the Google Street View car) to take thousands of still images of the streets and could then navigate around them from a touch-screen and an array of videodisc players.

We wondered whether we could use a simplified version of this idea in the UK and after some experiments decided we could use this to show the main types of housing in the UK and a few typical examples of 'the outside world'.

The Domesday walk model looks clunky compared to Street View and QuickTime VR since we took eight photographs at each point and the user can only turn in 45 degree increments, rather than smoothly. We also extended the idea to produce a way of accessing some of the contents of the National Disc, whereby the user could move around a computer-generated art gallery.

I had also hoped we might use the walk around a newly-built show house as a way of accessing information on sales of domestic products. Click on the TV and see the market for televisions. But we didn't have time to add that feature.

Crowd sourcing and Wikis

The internet provides an instant way of gathering information from people. Domesday aimed to do the same but using the Royal Mail as it's network. There were elements of a Wiki in the text pages of the Community Disc but, until now, there was no way for those pages to be rewritten and developed.

So it's a snapshot of a Wiki rather than a true Wiki but in the media landscape of the 1980s the notion of people writing whatever they wanted and it being published (and by the BBC at that) was very, very rare. And mentioning Wikis brings us back to where we started.

Like all innovative projects ... indeed like all projects of any kind ... Domesday was a mixture of existing ideas, ideas that developed from existing ideas, and new ideas. And it is important to remember that Domesday was a consumer product and was built with this in mind.

Could Domesday have influenced companies like Google? I did demonstrate it at America's main interactive video conference in 1988 and the project is often cited as part of what is known as the prior art when patents for interactive media are being considered in the USA.

Actually whether Domesday influenced 21st century interactive media is irrelevant. We tried out ideas that, in most cases, came around again and worked better because the technology was more suited to them.

Sunny Side School, Middlesbrough

Over the past few weeks the BBC's Outreach team have been taking Domesday Reloaded into communities and schools around the country.

In Northampton The Ravensthorpe WI have been busy describing how life has changed in their village since 1986. Meanwhile, students from Harry Gosling Primary School met with a former student and original Domesday Project contributor and produced an audio-slideshow about the experience.

Members of the Sheffield 50+ network have also been getting involved with photographing their local area, as have The Priory Day Centre in Bodmin, and Sunnyside School Middlesbrough.

A big thank you to all the local history societies, schools and groups for their involvement and support.

Here are pictures from some of the workshops:

Ravensthorpe WI 90th anniversary celebrations - 2011

Harry Gosling Workshop

More to follow as we visit more schools and communities to get Reloaded...

The roadshow features a 1980s retro bedroom area complete with games, toys and informative BBC Domesday reloaded film. There's also a chance to present an 80s-style edition of Top of the Pops in our interactive greenscreen area.

You can also explore the website with one of the team and ask questions about Domesday Reloaded.

We've already stopped off at Coventry and Warrington but the roadshow will also be calling at:

Wednesday 18th May = St Georges, Preston

Thursday 19th May = Arndale, Manchester

Friday 20th May = The Potteries, Stoke-on-Trent

If you visit the roadshow do let us know what you think.

Andy Finney

Article written by Andy Finney

Producer on the original BBC Domesday Project

When the Domesday Project was devised back in 1984, one key question we had to resolve was how to deliver it.

There were two strong reasons for using the BBC micro: it was widely available in schools and its video output was compatible with 'real' television. Similarly, the Philips LaserVision system was suitable because it was a tried and tested tool for interactive video in the UK.

 In fact, there was no other real option. (In the USA the Apple II occupied this niche and the laser videodisc players came from Magnavox.)

BBC Video had already demonstrated that a videodisc with a data channel could be produced commercially. They had published the Videobook of British Garden Birds (presented by David Attenborough) in 1982.

This disc was designed to be a little more interactive than most consumer videodiscs by being 'active play', which meant you could still-frame the video on the disc, carefully indexing the sections on each bird, having two soundtracks (with and without commentary) and adding a teletext magazine. It was apparent from the technical specification of LaserVision that it had enough bandwidth and was stable enough to carry broadcast standard teletext. This was something that was not possible on video cassette.

The BBC Natural History Unit, who produced the disc, also provided information on the birds and the Ceefax department produced the teletext data. The oddest part of the whole process was that, in order to insert the teletext data into the TV signal BBC2 had to be taken off-air while its network equipment was used to make the videodisc master. As far as we know, this disc was the first consumer product anywhere in the world to use an optical disc to store data, rather than digital audio. I was later told by Philips that this BBC disc helped them decide that optical data discs could be viable. If only we had patented it.

Originally, the Domesday team thought it might be possible to store the data for the project as television frames full of teletext. The BBC Micro teletext adapter, another piece of readily available kit at the time, could gather teletext from any line of the TV picture. I had written a demonstration interactive application (in BBC Basic) which provided a user interface to the Birdbook while also taking background data from the teletext on the disc and blending it into a single application.

A team at the University of London had produced a demonstration disc which included some full-frame teletext. The problem was one of error correction in a mass-produced disc, since teletext refreshes regularly when transmitted and so relies partly on this repetition to handle occasional errors. This would not work with a videodisc.

As it happened, the question of teletext was sidestepped by Philips Research who told us that they could add a rugged data channel to the videodisc format by replacing the two analogue sound channels with a channel carrying the data. This was LV-ROM. In the final system, the player also included a system to lock the disc video to the computer video and combine them in various ways under control of the software. So the computer was plugged into the player and the player was plugged into the monitor.

The computer was almost a standard BBC Master computer, complete with a second processor (yes, Domesday used two cores) and a special filing system to control the player. The only new piece of hardware was an interface between the computer and player which transferred the data and controlled the player. This was the then brand new SCSI interface, beloved of high performance hard discs to this day, and it slotted into the micro in a new slim circuit board.

The firming up of our delivery platform and the production of the content took place side-by-side and we were a long way into the project when Philips were able to produce a real LV-ROM disc for us. But it all became a little more real when we were able to hold that first disc in our hands.