Heritage Detectives at Lumb Bank

Would you like to engage with the heritage of Lumb Bank and help us investigate and share its history? We are looking for four Heritage Detectives to explore an aspect of Lumb’s heritage and work with a group to uncover something interesting to share with our local community. 

We are offering four micro-commissions for projects that explore an aspect of Lumb Bank’s heritage and culminate in a small-scale public sharing.

About Lumb Bank

Nestling in Colden Clough below Heptonstall, Lumb Bank is an atmospheric historic estate comprising a house, barn, cottage and outbuildings. Over time, it has been many things: a farm, a mill owner’s house, a fur and pony ranch, a mink farm, a tea room, and the former home of Ted Hughes.

Today, Lumb Bank is a creative writing retreat space with a rich and storied life – from farming and self-sufficiency, through mechanisation and post-industrial transition, to its current life as a place for writers and ideas. We are interested in creative responses to an aspect of Lumb Bank’s layered heritage.

The Opportunity

Arvon North is inviting artists, facilitators, and historians to submit a short project proposal to engage a group of people (perhaps you already work with them or would like to, or we could match you up with a group) with a particular strand of Lumb Bank’s heritage and history. 

Projects might focus on:

• environmental heritage
• literary history
• landscape
• geological
• social history
• or another approach of your choosing

Public Sharing

Whatever you choose, each project should culminate in a small-scale public sharing. This might take the form of a mini exhibition, a guided walk, a workshop, a performance or another appropriate way of sharing the work with the local community.

We are offering four micro-commissions, each with a budget of £1,000. Projects should be developed and delivered by the end of July 2026.

The budget for each of the micro commission is £1000.  

How to Apply

Submit a short project proposal outlining your idea, approach and the group you would like to work with.

Click here to download the project proposal document.

Deadline for submissions: Saturday 28 February 2026.

Submit by email to helen.meller@arvon.org