LINCOLNSHIRE WOLDS CHURCHES FESTIVAL Evaluation Report - November 2019 Lincolnshire Wolds Churches Festival Evaluation Report - November 2019 Delivered a successful online and social media Awarded EXECUTIVE SUMMARY campaign with 7 bursaries worth over This report provides an external evaluative review by Bright Culture of the Lincolnshire Wolds Churches Festival Project which ran from April – November 2019; led by the National Churches Trust and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project focuses on the churches 359 Tweets, £1,000 in total for churches to and their communities in the district of East Lindsey in Lincolnshire. The project aimed to develop and a Facebook reach of a new festival spanning over two weekends in September, create new interpretation sharing the develop their own mini history of churches and build volunteer skills in welcoming visitors from around the world into interpretation projects. their churches. In the past eight months the project has: 39,772 people Engaged Trained 94 Opened up 861 volunteers in Welcoming 140 Visitors, Keeping Churches volunteers to churches during Open, Social Media, Opening take part in the up Churchyards, Telling the 4 day festival festival Stories and Social History. over 2 weekends Welcomed Created Delivered a festival conference including 9,000 11,000 training to church visits church directories listing during the all the churches in the 72 festival. district, to be distributed volunteers The project also extended the geographical the festival a success. Whilst the team were over three years area it covered. It emerged that a small group confident volunteers would want to take part of around 18 coastal churches, some of which and visitors would come, the numbers have were in the most deprived communities in the gone way beyond their expectations. All but area, were not included within the Wolds area one of the targets for the project have been Welcomed – but just over the boundary. The team felt this over exceeded and the feedback demonstrates omission was unfair. Invitations were sent to the sheer enthusiasm for the festival and these churches and 14 participated. The festival associated training. Church teams who took 50 was then renamed Lincolnshire Wolds and part in the project felt a sense of inclusion and Coast Festival. The team felt this rebranding recognition that they had not felt previously. Produced school children into Produced and churches to trial treasure was important, not only to represent the coastal The platform the festival has provided hunt spotter books distributed churches but to also, in marketing terms, attract churches with, has in no doubt inspired their a wider audience. teams to do more and open up their buildings 100 to new audiences. As a result of this project, 7 new explorer packs and flyers, 12,000 The Church Support Officer delivering the new interpretation projects are currently being project has been overwhelmed not just by developed by confident church teams using posters and 1,000 the number of churches in the district who their new skills and experience, building their 1,500 signed up to this project, but their interest, resilience for their buildings for the future. treasure hunt spotter books 10,000 guidebooks enthusiasm and commitment to making for families to promote the festival 2 3 Lincolnshire Wolds Churches Festival Evaluation Report - November 2019 ‘Visiting the festival churches over the past two weekends has been a pleasure and a privilege to meet the volunteers and folk who look after and keep these beautiful buildings. Hospitality has been given everywhere from the smallest, humblest chapel to the richly decorated parish church.’ Festival visitor via Twitter, September 2019 CONTENTS Introduction 5 Methodology 7 Activities 10 Volunteer training 10 Marketing the festival 11 Church guidebooks and directories 12 Festival visitors 13 Explorer packs and treasure hunt 16 Schools 17 Bursaries 17 Conclusion 18 Successes 18 Challenges 18 Learning from this project 18 Resilience & next steps 19 Recommendations 20 4 5 Lincolnshire Wolds Churches Festival Evaluation Report - November 2019 INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY In many Lincolnshire Wolds villages the church The Festival was supported by the National Lisa Davenport of Arts & Heritage Consultancy • Church volunteer participant numbers. is the focal point, being the only communal Churches Trust (NCT) (registered charity Bright Culture was commissioned to deliver • Church participating in festival numbers. building and usually the oldest. Many are mini number 1119845) and managed by NCT a summative evaluation of the project using • Festival participant numbers. museums, holding the stories, treasures and Heritage Services Ltd (company registration data and information collected by the Church • Festival participant surveys. social histories of these communities. Small 11194504). This project aimed to build on Support Officer over the 8 month delivery period • Volunteer training surveys. teams of volunteers care and open up these the learning and experience gained during of the project. Data and information analysed • Volunteer feedback forms. churches but many do not have the skills the Great Interpretation Project delivered and used to inform this report includes: • Online & social media data. or power to attract visitors. The Lincolnshire in 2018/19. This project, also supported by • Feedback from school groups. Wolds Churches Festival project aimed to bring Lincolnshire County Council’s Community • Bursary application forms church teams together and combine efforts Collaboration Fund and East Lindsey District to raise the profile of the churches in this area Council (ELDC), aimed to replicate the success In addition to this data, Lisa has undertaken 1:1 by developing and widely promoting a new of the West Lindsey Churches Festival which interviews with three project participants and festival. The key outputs of the project were: has been running in the neighbouring district the Church Support Officer. for 23 years. The aspiration is that this new • To engage 100 churches to open up during festival will also become annual, with ELDC the festival, with 600 church volunteers committing funding for a further two years. This taking part in the project. project was about getting the festival off the • To deliver the festival over 2 weekends in ground with a huge promotional arm and up- September engaging 5000 visitors. skilling volunteers to encourage and enable • To offer training to 150 volunteers in them to take part but also to trial and share marketing and interpretation. ideas with other church teams. The project has • To create new family activities, including an been delivered by the Church Support Officer, explorer pack and treasure hunt for each of a post part funded by the project. The key the 100 churches taking part. audiences the project aimed to reach were: • To develop new marketing materials including 6000 guidebooks, posters and • Volunteers; churchwardens, church flyers and an online and social media welcomers, clergy, members of campaign. congregations and local people. • To distribute bursaries to up to 25 churches • Local people; those who volunteer, visit or to deliver mini interpretation projects. use the church for community activities. • Schools; who will be able to access the explorer packs and interpretation materials during visits to local churches. • Visitors; who will find more churches open and accessible more of the time. • New audiences: families will be encouraged to be involved in the project and become visitors via the treasure hunts and explorer packs. Map showing the East Lindsey district where the project took place. Scamblesby pupils enjoying the Spotter Books. Scamblesby Primary School 6 7 Lincolnshire Wolds Churches Festival Evaluation Report - November 2019 ACTIVITIES OUTPUTS OUTCOMES ACTIVITIES OUTPUTS OUTCOMES A new churches The boundary was Heritage will be The festival will be 359 tweets and a Heritage will be festival will take place extended to cover the better interpreted and widely marketed via Facebook post reach better interpreted and over 2 weekends in coast. explained posters, brochures of 39,772 people explained September 2019 and an online over the duration 140 churches took People will have learnt campaign. of the social media People will have learnt part in the festival and about heritage campaign. about heritage open their doors over Bursaries will be given the weekends. More people and a to churches wishing 13,000 posters and More people and a wider range of people to devise their own flyers distributed. wider range of people 9,000 visits recorded will have engaged projects. will have engaged by churches over the with heritage 7 churches awarded with heritage two weekends of the bursaries to develop festival. their own mini interpretation projects Volunteers will receive 861 church volunteers People will have training in marketing, took part in the project developed skills interpretation and how to research and 94 volunteers present their heritage undertook training to the public. The project will 10,000 church Heritage will be increase understanding guidebooks designed better interpreted and and awareness and printed and explained of the heritage of distributed church buildings People will have learnt by developing a 11,000 church about heritage guidebook and directories printed and directory. available to purchase More people and a at churches during wider range of people festival will have engaged