The Foundations of Gargoyle Press
We started Gargoyle Press because brilliant conservation work is going unnoticed.
Stonemasons doing exceptional restoration without anyone knowing their names. Heritage trusts managing extraordinary sites but struggling to attract visitors. Conservation specialists solving complex problems with nobody documenting their expertise.
Your work deserves better than that.
Emma’s Background
As a freelance copywriter and writer, Emma has honed her marketing skills working with a multitude of small- to medium-sized business clients in different sectors including construction and building conservation. Working for Cathedral Communications for several years, Emma has edited, proofread and helped to produce the Building Conservation Directory and Historic Churches for Cathedral Communications. In addition, magazines for HB&P, IHBC and CiFA.
With a passion for storytelling, combined with a special interest in history, old buildings and heritage, Emma helps organisations tell their stories compellingly, making them absorbing and accessible for digital marketing purposes.
Jo’s Background
Jo is a published author, ghostwriter and former Publications Manager at Cathedral Communications. Apart from the portfolio of heritage and building conservation publications produced there, her books, short stories, features and award-winning radio work have been published and broadcast internationally. She blends over twenty years’ experience as Head of Creative for several international media groups with over a decade of university lecturing in Creative Writing and authorship.
As a writing mentor and speaker, Jo shows entrepreneurs and non-business authors how to improve every aspect of their creative writing.
As an experienced ghostwriter, she’s the go-to expert at ‘doing the slog’ for coaches, speakers, business owners and those with a story to tell. She has had twenty-six books published. “Most self-branders understand the value of having a book to market and they want one that’s professionally written, edited and published. They just don’t have the time or the skills to do it justice themselves, or their digital marketing,” she says.
Why We Focus Exclusively on Heritage and Conservation
We made a conscious decision: to work only with the heritage and conservation sector.
Why? Because generic marketing companies don't understand your world. They'll treat your conservation charity the same as a tech startup or a coffee shop. They'll use the wrong terminology, miss the nuances and waste your budget learning what you already know.
You can't afford that. Neither can the sector.
We choose to specialise because:
● Your work matters. Traditional crafts are disappearing. Historic buildings are at risk. Heritage stories are being lost. This isn't just business to us, it's cultural preservation.
● You deserve expertise. When we write about hydraulic lime versus non-hydraulic lime, we know what we're talking about. When we help you promote Heritage Open Days, we understand the context. We’ll help you connect with your audiences and build your relationships.
● We want to see you succeed. Every time you win lottery funding, every time your event fills up, every time volunteers come forward - that's a building saved, a craft preserved, a piece of heritage protected. We're invested in those outcomes.
Why Your Work Matters to Us
We don't want to be the generation that loses our built heritage.
Every threatened building you're fighting to save, every traditional craft skill you're keeping alive, every heritage story you're trying to share - these matter to us, deeply.
We've chosen to focus exclusively on heritage and conservation because your work deserves more than generic marketing. Your buildings, your crafts, your communities require people who understand, not marketers learning on your budget.
When you secure Heritage Lottery funding because your online presence demonstrated strong public engagement, when your event fills because promotion was strategic, when volunteers come forward because your story was told compellingly, that's not just a client success.
That's a building you've saved. A craft you've preserved. A piece of heritage you've protected for future generations.
We're here to help you make that happen.
Ready to Work Together?
We'd love to hear about your organisation, your challenges and how we might help.
No pressure. Just honest conversation about whether we're the right fit.
Our Approach: Partnership, Not Just Provision
We don't see ourselves as just ‘the marketing people.’
We're your communications partner. We learn your organisation inside and out. We understand your upcoming projects, your funding cycles, your busy seasons, your stakeholder relationships. We become an extension of your team.
What that means in practice:
● We attend your team meetings (virtually or in-person) when it helps
● We suggest opportunities you might not have considered
● We celebrate your successes with you
● We problem-solve together when things don't go to plan
You're not ‘clients’ to us in the transactional sense. You're the people doing the actual conservation work. We're here to support that mission.
Our Commitment to the Heritage Sector
We work at heritage sector rates. We price our services to be accessible to conservation charities, small amenity societies, sole practitioners and organisations working on tight budgets. We understand funding cycles and can structure payments around grants.
We include you in funding applications. Organisations include our services in their Heritage Lottery Fund applications, Arts Council grants or conservation project budgets. We'll provide whatever documentation you need.
We respect heritage values. Everything we create reflects conservation principles. We won't compromise the dignity of heritage sites for ‘engagement.’ We won't suggest tactics that conflict with your mission. We understand the difference between promotion and commercialisation.
We contribute to the sector. We share knowledge freely through our Heritage Insights blog. We support sector events. We engage with conservation discussions. We're here for the long term.