Horncastle History & Heritage Society

Horncastle History & Heritage Society Founded as the town’s civic society in 1966 we’re a charity dedicated to historic Horncastle

For the last few weeks, specialist conservators from Skillington Workshop have been hard at work restoring three of Horn...
05/06/2026

For the last few weeks, specialist conservators from Skillington Workshop have been hard at work restoring three of Horncastle's "ghost signs": two in the market place and one in the High Street.

We've provided some before, during and after images so you can see the quality of work - and maybe you remember the businesses involved.

This brilliant project is just one of the heritage-led improvements in Horncastle town centre, made possible by funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and supported by East Lindsey District Council. The funds has been awarded to Heritage Lincolnshire who have been consulting community organisations on potential heritage projects, and working closely with them.

At the History & Heritage Society, we're proud to play a small part as one of those community groups. And if you're one of our members, we hope to bring you more news of the ghost signs project in our next Newsletter.

Over the years, Horncastle has been home to many famous - even notorious - people.Our next talk is about a cobbler, who ...
03/06/2026

Over the years, Horncastle has been home to many famous - even notorious - people.

Our next talk is about a cobbler, who became a preacher ... and then a hangman. From his home in Horncastle, William Marwood would travel all over Britain and Ireland in the 1870s and 1880s to execute prisoners. The "long drop" method of hanging that he used was more humane than the gruesome practices which preceded him.

Hear how this unusual man became nationally well known and even feared.

We think this might be a popular talk, so getting to the venue in good time might be a good idea.

The talk takes place on Wednesday 17 June at 7.30pm. The venue as always will be The Horncastle Community Centre, and a small admission charge applies. You can pay on the door by cash or card.

There's parking nearby in the St Lawrence St car park.

A perfect day at the Walled Garden Baumber's Vintage Festival today. Lovely to meet and chat with members and visitors....
24/05/2026

A perfect day at the Walled Garden Baumber's Vintage Festival today. Lovely to meet and chat with members and visitors.

Many thanks to Grace and the Festival team, who were really helpful.

Please give us a thumbs up if you saw our stand!

The Viking Way is 50 years old this year, and we've got a walk lined up this Saturday 23 May to mark the occasion!In ass...
20/05/2026

The Viking Way is 50 years old this year, and we've got a walk lined up this Saturday 23 May to mark the occasion!

In association with Horncastle Walkers, we're meeting at Hornxcastle Library at 10am and will leave soon afterwards, going along the Viking Way to Woodhall Spa along the track of the old railway. It's a little over 5 miles and will probably take about 2 hours.

There will be a short (no more than 10 mins) talk about how the Viking Way came about outside the Library at 10am. If you've seen this described as a 2 hour talk, don't worry - it won't be!

Please bring appropriate footwear and a drink.

Thanks to Lincolnshire Libraries for helping with promotion for this event

It's the Vintage Festival at the Walled Garden Baumber this Sunday, 24 May - and we'll be there with our stall!We'd be d...
19/05/2026

It's the Vintage Festival at the Walled Garden Baumber this Sunday, 24 May - and we'll be there with our stall!

We'd be delighted to see you and have a chat about history and heritage, so do please pop over if you're free.

You can hear about our forthcoming exhibition which tells the story of the Victorian executioner William Marwood, who lived in Horncastle for much of his life.

We'll be selling our popular books as always, including our latest title, "The Railway that Horncastle Built" by Chris Bates.

We really enjoyed the Woodhall Spa Country Show this year. It was great to chat with everyone, whether visitors, member...
18/05/2026

We really enjoyed the Woodhall Spa Country Show this year. It was great to chat with everyone, whether visitors, members or fellow heritage folk. Looking forward to next year!

For everyone who asked about our events programme for the rest of the year, here it is. There will be additional walks as well, including a Viking Way walk from Horncastle to Woodhall Spa this Saturday 23 May, starting from the Library at 10am, including a (short) talk about 50 years of the Way. See Lincolnshire Libraries for more details.

You can find out more about us at our website horncastlehistory.co.uk

It's the Woodhall Spa Country Show tomorrow, Sunday May 17th - and we'll be there with our stall as usual! Come and hav...
16/05/2026

It's the Woodhall Spa Country Show tomorrow, Sunday May 17th - and we'll be there with our stall as usual!

Come and have a chat with us in the Heritage Marquee, where we and many other heritage societies will be delighted to see you.

15/05/2026

Just 3 days to go.🥳

The Lincolnshire Wolds Outdoor Festival starts this weekend.🌿

Everything’s nearly ready — now it’s just about deciding where to start.

Whether you’ve booked your spots or you’re planning to turn up and see what you find, we’ll see you out there.

Address

Joseph Banks Centre, Bridge Street
Horncastle
LN95HZ

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 12:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 12:30pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Website

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