Arts in Heritage: Commission for Horncastle History & Heritage Society
Story Tellers are delighted to share a new commissioning opportunity in partnership with Horncastle History and Heritage Society for a visual artist to respond to a unique collection of folklore rooted in the landscapes and history of Horncastle and the surrounding countryside.
Commission details
Horncastle History & Heritage Society works to promote civic pride and local heritage through their mission of “protecting Horncastle’s past, present, and future”.
They care for a large Town Archive containing many unique photos, records, maps and objects donated by local people, which are catalogued and researched by their volunteers.
They also share material from their archive by publishing engaging and accessible local history books and booklets, sold online and in local book shops.
They promote good design in the town by commenting on planning applications, erecting blue plaques, maintaining flower planters across town, and developing projects to promote and protect the town and its heritage.
This commission invites a visual artist to create work that explores the folklore stories collected by local vicar Rev James Alpass Penny in the early 1900s.
These contain a treasure trove of magical animals, witches, wisemen, and local characters both real and legendary.
Whilst some tales contain more truth than others, all of them are a record of rural life and the stories told by the ordinary people who lived in these landscapes before us.
We are looking for an imaginative response that brings the stories to life, create new routes into the folklore of the area and consider how these stories might be shared with future generations.
This project includes helping explore how the Society can share these stories in new and creative ways, and providing training and support to help our volunteers develop their skills, as well as developing our connections with other local heritage partners in the wider area.
Overview
Location: South East Lincolnshire responding to stories of Horncastle
Commission Budget including artist fee: £4,500 inc VAT
Expression of Interest Deadline: End of Day Friday 23 October
Artist appointed by: Friday 6th November
Commission Timeline: November 2026 – Early May 2027
The Brief
Story Tellers is an arts and cultural programme bringing people together across East Lindsey, Boston and South Holland to celebrate local heritage and tell the stories of place in new and creative ways.
Through its Arts in Heritage strand, the programme is supporting heritage organisations to develop their commissioning skills and artists to create new work inspired by local histories, communities and places.
The programme is generously funded through Story Teller’s Arts Council England funding.
The commission is looking for a visual artist to work with the society on a new publication of local folklore stories collected by the Rev James Alpass Penny and originally published in two volumes:
Folklore Round Horncastle (1915)
More Folklore Round Horncastle (1922)
Together they number over 100 tales, and feature different places across East Lindsey and neighbouring districts, with a focus around Horncastle and Woodhall Spa.
Penny’s books were only ever published locally, and today they are very difficult to get hold of, with copies held behind glass in our Town Archive and at Horncastle Library.
Sadly, most of these stories now go untold, and they have been almost entirely forgotten in the places they came from.
We want to change that.
The Society would like to revive them so they can be shared again.
Whilst it would be easy to reprint them or share them as a PDF online, this would not do them justice or help them reach a wider audience of people who would be interested, if only they were brought to life.
We are therefore looking for a visual artist to collaborate with on a republication of Folklore Round Horncastle — the first volume with 67 stories — with artwork that brings the stories to life and makes them appealing to new audiences.
The artwork could also go on to be exhibited in local venues around the district.
In the future we may also create a folklore trail, or audio versions of the stories, using the imagery generated to support and engage people in different ways.
The commission therefore is open to any visual artists, and the process might include:
Site visits
Workshops
Collaboration
Events
Site-responsive activity
The deliverable, however, will be a series of images to be included in a final publication of short folklore stories, including a cover image.
The final number to be decided in collaboration with the commissioner.
Key Prompts
The research and development for the commission has been undertaken through discussions, reflections and workshops with representatives from Horncastle History and Heritage Society who will be the lead commissioning partner.
The stories are rich and varied and incorporate a huge amount of local social history and country traditions alongside the supernatural happenings.
A selection of the stories include:
The Night Rider of Haltham
The Witches of Horncastle
The Kirkstead Underground Way to Tattershall Castle
The Woman In White in Weirhead Lane
The Devil’s Stone at Winceby
The Stainfield Wild Man and the Sword that Killed Him
The Tetford Witch
All Hallows Lights (Horsington)
The South Ormsby Blacksmith and the Wizard
The Coningsby Undertaker
The Tupholme White Calf
The Scrivelsby Farmer and the Looking Glass
A Son Meets his Father's Spirit in Belchford Churchyard
Key Requirements
We are looking for an artist that can:
Work collaboratively with the commissioning partner and local communities, particularly engaging new audiences such as young people.
Respond specifically and creatively to the local landscapes around Horncastle – and the sites of these stories.
Celebrate and raise the profile Horncastle’s stories and people.
Contribute to the wider Story Tellers programme through a skills exchange/presentation, and help lay foundations for future interpretation or trails.
Local connections and resources
The commissioning partner can help broker relationships with residents, communities, schools and colleges and other community organisations.
Artists can also be connected with local historians, Heritage Lincolnshire and specialist knowledge through the wider Story Tellers network where useful.
We have a number of knowledgeable partner organisations that you can approach for access to specialist information and support, i.e. archives/museums/libraries in the region.
Budget
The total commission budget is £4,500 inclusive of artist fees and VAT where applicable.
This must cover:
All artist time
Travel and accommodation
Engagement activity
Materials
Production of artwork/s
Artists should propose a realistic allocation of the budget appropriate to their approach.
A separate budget has been allocated for typesetting, design and printing and therefore these costs do not need to be included in the £4,500.
We recognise this is a modest scale budget and we anticipate artists who are interested will therefore scale their proposals accordingly.
We want this to be a nourishing / rewarding experience and not to overstretch.
Please be creative but be realistic.
A&H, our programme partner, will provide additional planning and production, feedback and evaluation support alongside marketing and documentation as well as forging key partnerships and relationships where needed and supporting these conversations.
How to Respond to this Brief
Please send us an Expression of Interest of up to 300 words telling us:
A little about your practice and why this opportunity interests you
How you and your work could respond to the stories
An initial idea or approach to the commission
This is not expected to be a developed proposal.
Please also include:
A summary CV – maximum 2 sides, or weblink
Your Access Document (if relevant) – the kinds of support that would make sure your needs are met on this commission
Up to 10 images (JPG format preferred) demonstrating your practice/previous projects or a website link to your portfolio
Please don’t embed any other web links
Please keep language accessible as your Expression of Interest will be read by a group of people who may not be familiar with contemporary art language.
Selection Process
A small shortlisting team composed of our partners, and Arts&Heritage will look at the Expressions of Interest.
Please note that we will do our best to provide feedback on your EOIs but please bear with us as we may not be able to do so immediately after shortlisting.
Interviews
Shortlisted artists will be interviewed by a small team including representatives from the commissioners, partners and Arts&Heritage.
Please be aware that interviews will be held online, and we will ensure questions are all sent in advance to enable you to prepare.
Timeline
Expression of Interest Deadline: End of Day Friday 23 October
Artist appointed by: Friday 6th November
Commission Timeline: November 2026 – Early May 2027
What to do next
Please send your Expression of Interest and supporting materials to: info@artsandheritage.org.uk
by the deadline:Friday 23 October
Access
If you have any Access Requirements, then please let us know and we will support you where needed through the process.
Help & Advice
We appreciate that timelines are compressed and Stephanie Allen will be on hand to give help and advice at any stage required.
Please request a chat via info@artsandheritage.org.uk if it would be useful.