The Lion Salt works will officially open to the public today (5 June) with Centre Screen working alongside designers RFA Design and the client team at Cheshire West Council to create all of the AV and interactive multimedia for the heritage attraction.
As one of the last three remaining historic open-pan salt-making sites in the world, the site has also been awarded Scheduled Ancient Monument Status and now explores the history of salt-making in the area, encouraging visitors to learn more about the fascinating process used to create this valuable substance.
The new living museum gives a fascinating insight into the story of salt, explaining the national significance of Cheshire’s salt industry and how it shaped the local people, economy and landscape.
The Lion Salt Works came to national prominence as a regional runner-up in the BBC’s Restoration Programme in 2004 and is also an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. Its Scheduled Ancient Monument Status has meant that restoration of the site has been painstaking, but after 4 years and a £10.2 million funding injection, the site has been regenerated back to its former glory.
The Boiling Pan show – a large-scale projected AV set within a restored working salt pan room – gives the wow-factor, immersing visitors in the difficult conditions workers would have faced on site. The film tells the story of salt production through archive images and abstract content filmed in the studio. A very hands on shoot, Centre Screen even built a giant kaleidoscope which was used on a turntable to mimic the formation of salt crystals!
Other exhibits include the Restoration Story interactive which tells the story of the site renovation through the people who made it happen, alongside a series of stunning images and time-lapse videos that show the before and after results.
