Warrington Castle Project launches community campaign to investigate town’s hidden medieval landscape
- AVimmerse
- Jun 22
- 6 min read
AVimmerse is supporting a community led campaign to explore Warrington’s lost medieval castle near St Elphin’s Park, using responsible archaeology, digital heritage and public engagement to reconnect the town with a forgotten part of its story.
Most people in Warrington have no idea they may be living beside the remains of a castle. The site near St Elphin’s Park was heavily altered in the 20th century and has often been assumed to have limited archaeological potential. Recent survey work suggests the story may be more complex.
Working from historic maps, LiDAR, drone derived terrain modelling and geophysical survey, the Warrington Castle Project has identified features that appear consistent with the possible ditch or moat of Warrington’s medieval castle. There are also early indications that the wider landscape may preserve traces of earlier activity, but that remains to be tested through careful, professionally supervised investigation.
Nothing is being claimed prematurely. What the evidence already shows is that there is a genuine story here worth pursuing.
The project has now entered a major public phase, with a live Kickstarter campaign, local media coverage, council support and growing community interest. AVimmerse is supporting that work, and the ambition reaches well beyond the archaeological investigation itself.
This was never only a search for old stones. A forgotten castle, an ancient church and an overlooked landscape sit within an everyday part of Warrington where many people pass by without knowing the story beneath their feet.
Bringing that story back into public view raises a larger question: how does a place that has lost touch with part of its past rebuild a sense of pride, identity and shared purpose for what comes next?
Heritage here is not about looking backwards. It is about giving a community something real to gather around, explore and build on.
This work also forms part of AVimmerse’s wider immersive heritage practice, which is explored in more detail on our Warrington Castle project page.
Watch the campaign film
The Warrington Castle campaign film introduces the story of the lost castle, explains why the next stage matters, and shows how local people, schools, businesses and heritage partners can get involved.
A new public phase for the Warrington Castle Project
The Warrington Castle Project has grown from several years of local research, drone survey, terrain modelling, historic mapping, public talks, walking tours and conversations with archaeologists, historians and community partners.
The current phase is focused on raising support for the next careful stage of archaeological investigation. The live Kickstarter campaign aims to raise £15,000 to help fund professionally guided work, carried out with the right permissions, reporting and expert oversight in place.
This is an important moment for the project. It moves the story from research, interpretation and public interest into a more active phase of community supported investigation.
It also gives residents the opportunity to play a direct role in helping Warrington explore one of its most intriguing historical questions: what might still survive beneath the ground near St Elphin’s Park?
Responsible archaeology and community support
A key part of the Warrington Castle Project is the commitment to responsible heritage investigation.
This is not a treasure hunt, and it is not an invitation for independent digging or metal detecting. Archaeological evidence can be fragile.
If remains do survive, they need to be protected, recorded and understood properly.
Any future excavation or evaluation work would be carefully planned, professionally supervised and subject to the necessary permissions.
The project has been publicly welcomed by Warrington Borough Council for its community focus and its emphasis on responsible archaeological practice. The next phase of work is being supported through the Kickstarter campaign and wider community backing, not through council funding.
That distinction matters. The aim is to create a careful, transparent and community supported process that protects the site while helping local people understand and engage with the story.
More than a search for a lost castle
The possible remains of Warrington Castle are the starting point, but the project is about more than the physical evidence.
Local heritage matters because it gives people a stronger connection to where they live. A lost castle, an ancient church, an overlooked landscape or a forgotten story can all become starting points for wider conversations about memory, identity, belonging and civic pride.
The Warrington Castle Project is one example of how heritage can become active again. It brings together archaeology, storytelling, education, public events, local knowledge and digital interpretation.
The question is not only whether something survives beneath the ground. It is also what a rediscovered story can do above ground.
Can it bring residents, schools, businesses, churches, heritage groups and civic partners into a shared conversation about Warrington’s past and future?
That is the wider ambition of the project.
How AVimmerse is supporting the project
AVimmerse is an immersive heritage and XR storytelling studio. We help communities, cultural organisations and civic partners turn complex places into stories people can understand, share and take part in.
Our work spans film, 3D scanning, drone survey, virtual reality, augmented reality, education and public engagement. Across the UK, AVimmerse has contributed to projects that use digital tools to make heritage more accessible, meaningful and connected to place.
That work does not happen in isolation. AVimmerse collaborates with university researchers, heritage specialists, schools, community groups and cultural partners. Founder Keith Myers was also selected for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Regional Talent Engines programme, where he developed a wider model for helping communities and heritage organisations tell their own place based stories.
The Warrington Castle Project draws on that same approach.
On the ground, the technology earns its place by revealing what the eye cannot always see. Drone survey and terrain modelling help map the shape of the landscape. LiDAR and geophysical data help identify patterns that may survive beneath the surface. Film, 3D visualisation and public storytelling then help turn that evidence into something a resident, pupil, councillor or local business can understand.
The point is not technology for its own sake. It is that careful digital methods can help recover a story that has been overlooked and place it back into public hands.
For a fuller look at how AVimmerse has supported the project through storytelling, digital interpretation, community events and immersive media, visit our Warrington Castle project page.
Growing public interest
The project has already attracted interest from local residents, heritage groups, schools, businesses, media and civic partners.
Public walks and talks have shown that people are curious about the story once they realise what may have stood in this part of Warrington. For many, the surprise is not only that the town had a castle, but that such an important story could become so hidden in the first place.
That response has shaped the direction of the project. It is not simply about presenting history to an audience. It is about inviting people into the process, creating space for questions, memories, local knowledge and shared discovery.
The campaign has also been covered by Warrington Borough Council, local media and BBC radio, helping bring the story to a wider audience.
Support the Warrington’s Lost Castle campaign
The live Kickstarter campaign is helping fund the next careful, professionally guided phase of investigation.
Supporters can back the campaign, share it with others, or help connect the project with schools, businesses, heritage organisations and community partners.
Back the Warrington’s Lost Castle Kickstarter campaign:
Visit the official Warrington Castle website: https://www.warringtoncastle.co.uk
Read more about AVimmerse’s work on the Warrington Castle project
Work with AVimmerse on place based heritage storytelling
AVimmerse is interested in hearing from heritage organisations, schools, academics, councils, cultural partners and community groups who are exploring how digital storytelling, archaeology, immersive media and public engagement can help people reconnect with local heritage.
The Warrington Castle Project is one live example of that approach. It shows how a hidden historic landscape can become a focus for curiosity, learning, community pride and shared place making.
To discuss a heritage, education or place based storytelling project, contact AVimmerse.
Useful links
Warrington Castle Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1623261456/warringtons-lost-castle-lets-find-out-whats-beneath
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