A history group has explored Trowbridge’s cellars and worked with an expert from Channel 4’s Time Team to produce an interactive DVD for computers looking at the origins of Trowbridge’s medieval castle.

The free disc has been produced with the help of a grant from The Heritage Lottery Fund by Preserve Our Past as part of an investigation into the history of the little-known 12th-century castle site which helped mark Trowbridge’s current town centre boundaries.

Remains of the castle are below the town and as well as delving into cellars and buildings across Trowbridge the group has been working with experts including Dr Stuart Prior, University of Bristol lecturer and former Time Team member, to produce a 3D map of what the site could have looked like.

POP has 1,000 copies of the disc, which includes a documentary about the castle’s Saxon and Norman history, that it wants to give to the public and use during school visits and pupils’ history studies.

Rachael Charlton, from POP, said: “We have tried to make the DVD as visual as possible so that people can understand where the castle was and how it relates to the layout of the town today.

“Following the construction of The Shires shopping centre, most of the castle site has now disappeared so we felt it was important to create something that helped explain where it stood and how it may have looked.”

With their own research POP made reference to an excavation project in Trowbridge which was carried out in the 1970s and 1980s. The group’s investigation explored inside businesses including DK Residential, HJ Knee, Richard Gardner hair salon and The Shires as well as working with Trowbridge Archaeological Group and the town’s museum.

Matthew Charlton, from POP, said: “This has been a wonderful project because we have had so much support from local people and we’d like to thank everyone involved.”

The free DVDs are available from The Town Hall, Fabric Magic, Trowbridge Museum, Etc Etc, The Civic Centre, La Bella Vita, the town library or by emailing preserveourpast@hotmail.co.uk.