Case study: Heritage Lincolnshire.

Back in 2019, I won a competitive tender for photography provision for the charity Heritage Lincolnshire, a Lincolnshire-based organisation who work to conserve the rich history of the county.

The photography was to support the project which was renovating The Old Kings Head, in Kirton near Boston. Images had to tell the story of the renovation, demonstrating to grant funders, like the Heritage Lottery Fund, where money was being spent and to be a powerful marketing tool.

A picture looking down onto the roof of the Old Kings Head at the start of renovation.

In July 2019 I had my first visit to the 16th century grade II listed former pub, joining one of the hard hat tours to learn as much about the building and the restoration project as I could. After listening to the details of the project I produced a set of before images, being conscious to focus on the main areas which could be replicated later and show the dramatic transformation. Walking around the property on that visit, it was a challenge to envisage how the site would eventually turn into a stunning B&B. I knew these transformation photos would be a powerful marketing tool much later in the project.

Former residents of the Old Kings Head look at old pictures.

We tried to time a series of visits to update images to document major stages of the restoration work. There was a need to be flexible knowing, despite using the construction timetable as a guide, that many factors can impact on work; and Whilst we were building up this powerful visual story of the work, the process was also disrupted by to the multiple Covid-19 lockdowns. This severely restricted the time I could spend at the site.

Whilst documenting the physical changes of the building, we also wanted to feature the people undertaking the work. Whether they were aware of it at the time, they all played their part in the story of the building. Throughout my visits we made sure to photograph as many of the construction workers on site, undertaking a wide variety of jobs in as many different areas of the building as possible. Some of the stories about the people working turned into powerful marketing features on the website.

A worker on the roof of the Old Kings Head.

Once the construction work had been completed and the building handed over to heritage Lincolnshire, there was a clear need to market the venue and attract customers - again my photography helped play a major role in this. We photographed the various rooms and features of the building, and included the staff who work at the old kings head in images. This gave a sense of realism to visual elements of marketing content as well as starting to forge a connection between future customers - especially in the cafe and restaurant - and staff.

An exterior image of the refurbished Old Kings Head.

Hannah Tomlinson, owner of Globella, and former business development manager of Heritage Lincolnshire, said:

We worked with Chris over a two-year period (including throughout the Pandemic) to capture a large restoration project so that we had a pictorial timeline to refer back to for our funders, stakeholders and supporters of the project's progress.
Chris really delivered the essence of the project through his photographs and we really do have a fantastic portfolio that we are proud to use on social media, our website, leaflets and our guidebook publication.
He was easy to deal with, and very understanding, especially when key points of the project would move at the last minute and was great onsite, even getting up to high heights to get those key shots.

We have continued to use Chris in a variety of jobs, and he always delivers!

A do not disturb sign hung on the door of the refurbished Old Kings Head.

A guided roof tour during renovation works at the Old Kings Head.

A night-time exterior image of the refurbished Old Kings Head.

Old bottles hung from roof beams of the Old Kings Head.

A guided tour inside the Old Kings Head during renovation.

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