Announcing Our Heritage Detectives at Lumb Bank

Each project will work with a group of participants to investigate a different aspect of the site’s history, landscape and cultural significance, culminating in a public sharing later this year. Together, these projects reflect the richness of Lumb Bank itself – a place shaped by people, industry, nature and imagination. 

Resonant Landscapes | Katie Chatburn & Simon East 

Composer and academic Katie Chatburn and creative technologist Simon East will lead an immersive, sound-based workshop exploring how we connect to place through listening.  

Their project introduces the idea of ‘resonant landscapes’, inviting participants to engage with Lumb Bank and its surroundings through sound recording and interactive technology. Participants will gather sounds from across the house and landscape — from water and wildlife to the textures of the environment — using a range of recording tools including hydrophones and contact microphones. 

Living History at Lumb Bank | Paul Knights 

The next project explores Lumb Bank’s natural environment as a form of living history. Working with the Friends of Colden Clough, participants will take part in two guided walking workshops that combine ecological observation with historical research. Together, they will investigate how farming, quarrying, milling and conservation have influenced the biodiversity of the valley we see today. 

From ancient woodland and recovering ecosystems to the traces of historic land use embedded in fields and plant life, the project will connect past and present through the landscape itself. Archival materials such as maps and photographs will be used alongside on-the-ground observation to deepen understanding and spark discussion. 

Lumb Bank’s Lost Women | Angela Clare 

This social history project focuses on uncovering and reimagining the lives of women connected to Lumb Bank across its many pasts. 

Led by historian and writer Angela Clare, the project will explore archival traces and gaps relating to the women who lived and worked at Lumb Bank when it was a farm, millowner’s house, ranch, mink farm and tearoom. 

Participants will work collaboratively to investigate these histories and respond through creative writing, including poetry, scripts and narrative non-fiction. Recognising that many women’s stories are absent from official records, the project embraces both research and imagination to bring these voices back into view. 

Stories in Sound and Film | Danny Hardaker & Sally Molineaux  

The final project will explore Lumb Bank through film and audio, focusing on the relationship between creativity and the natural environment. 

Danny and Sally will gather stories connected to Lumb Bank, from personal memories to oral histories and reimagined narratives. These voices will be woven together with cinematic footage of the landscape and recorded soundscapes. By combining interviews, ambient sound and visual storytelling, the project aims to capture both the visible and invisible qualities of Lumb Bank; its atmosphere, its rhythms and its enduring connection to creative practice. 

These four projects will take place over the coming months, with public sharings to follow later in the year. We’re excited to see how each Heritage Detective works with participants to uncover new stories, perspectives and creative responses to Lumb Bank.  

Stay tuned for updates and opportunities to get involved by signing up for our email newsletter or by following us on Instagram.