Alix did the HLF Activity Plan for us and this was an extraordinarily thorough document - we know, because HLF told us, that they completely took our bid to pieces looking for anything that didn't stack up properly and could find nothing! …. Alix's experience of the heritage sector is excellent. I am happy to recommend Alix Slater and would feel very confident in working with her again on other projects.

About the project

Lincoln Castle Revealed is a £22 million heritage regeneration project led by Lincolnshire County Council which opened in 2015.

The Castle has over 1000 years of history and a number of different attractions within the Castle's curtilage, including Wall Walks, a Victorian Prison and copy of Magna Carta. There are multiple stories to tell and numerous stakeholders.

The consultancy's role

Alix Slater Consultancy & Training was brought into the project to assist with the Activity and Business Plans at short notice and brought the project back on track, developing an income generation plan based on weddings, events, guided tours, filming and a season ticket.

When the project was re-phased due to a partner pulling out at the last minute, the HLF trustees unanimously supported the revised scheme as being visionary and strategic and commented that the Activity Plan - which the consultancy had developed - was exemplary.

The Council received a £12 million HLF award at Round 2 and the consultancy was retained to lead on consultation during the development period to inform the ticketing strategy, content and creative approach to an audio visual to interpret the story of the signing of the Magna Carta and approaches to interpretation in the Victorian Prison.

When the Castle re-opened in April 2015 it exceeded visitor numbers and the learning sessions were fully booked.

Evaluation of the Delivery Phase

The award-winning £22 million project, Lincoln Castle Revealed, restored the Castle's walls, created a new wall walk, opened up the Georgian and Victorian prisons, installed interpretation and a new underground vault to display Lincoln's copy of the Magna Carta. The Castle re-opened to the public in 2015 and the Activity Plan was delivered through to 2017.

The consultancy had already undertaken formative evaluation to test interpretation themes, the content and style of a film about Magna Carta and audio-visual elements in the prison with visitors and non-visitors, including tourists and families. In 2017 the consultancy was commissioned to undertake the summative evaluation of the project. The report was for the core funder, The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The consultancy used a variety of data sources including a wealth of photographs and secondary data such as visitor figures, findings of visitor surveys and an economic impact study. Interviews with twenty-five former and current staff members, consultants and councillors added another layer of primary data. The photographic record was a compelling and visual way to tell the story of the project and highlight the transformation of the site, for example an image of the public queuing to see the Castle on opening day. All aspects of the project - construction, project management, fundraising, catering and retailing - were evaluated through the interviews to identify lessons learnt for future projects. Secondary data was used to measure success against the original targets.