Mortons of Horncastle Ltd is a publishing, events and printing company based in

Horncastle Horncastle is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, England. It is east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls rema ...

East Lindsey East Lindsey is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in Horncastle and the largest town is Skegness. Other towns include Alford, Lincolnshire, Alford, Burgh le Marsh, Coningsby, L ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England.

History

At the age of 21, William Kirkham Morton introduced mechanical typesetting to the small market-town of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, when he founded Mortons of Horncastle. He started the '' Horncastle News'' in 1887. The company eventually collapsed after Morton's death in 1935, but the bankrupt remains were bought by

Market Rasen Market Rasen ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The River Rase runs through it east to west, approximately north-east from Lincoln, England, Lincoln, eas ...

journalist Charles Edward Sharpe in the late 1950s. He consolidated his various assets and Mortons of Horncastle was revived as a printer and publisher of several Lincolnshire regional newspapers. In 1980 it started the
Louth Leader
and in 1985, the Skegness News.'' In 1999, it divided into three separate companies �
Mortons Print
and Mortons Motorcycle Media. In February 2001 the company sold its Lincolnshire Independent Newspaper Group to Welland Valley Newspapers to concentrate purely on hobbyist magazine publishing, events and exhibitions and contract printing. Its former titles, and those of the former Lincoln Standard Group, are now owned by

Johnston Press Johnston Press plc was a multimedia company founded in Falkirk, Scotland, in 1767. Its flagship titles included UK-national newspaper the '' i'', ''The Scotsman'', the ''Yorkshire Post'', the ''Falkirk Herald'', and Belfast's ''The News Letter'' ...

. With its four divisions – publishing, events, print and mailing – its operations now fall under the banner of Mortons Media Group. The company employs around 250 staff and achieved the

Investors in People Investors in People is a standard for people management, offering accreditation to organisations that adhere to the Investors in People Standard. From 1991 to January 2017, Investors in People was owned by the UK government. As of 1 February 20 ...

standard in 1997.

Divisions

Mortons Media Group Ltd

Mortons Media Group – a subsidiary company of Mortons of Horncastle – produces a range of hobbyist magazine titles and newspapers, organisers several major exhibitions, offers contract print and mailing services and houses a motorcycle and heritage image and publication archive.

Publishing

Having been involved in regional newspaper production for more than 40 years, in the mid-1990s Mortons began publishing hobbyist titles with the purchase of motorcycle newspaper Old Bike Mart. The acquisition of several more motorcycle-related titles followed, as did titles covering gardening, traction engines, classic American cars and scooters. Mortons also publishes

The Railway Magazine ''The Railway Magazine'' is a monthly United Kingdom, British railway magazine, aimed at the Railfan, railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it was, for three years running, the railway magazine with the ...

– first produced in 1897, the title celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2017. ''Current print publishing portfolio:'' *

Back Street Heroes Back Street Heroes (est. 1983) is a monthly UK custom bike magazine that helped to popularize a "new breed" of custom motorcycle, distinct from previous choppers because they combined rat bike-influenced utilitarian and minimalist design with ...

* Classic American * Classic Bike Guide * Classic Dirt Bike * Classic Motorcycle Mechanics * Classic Racer * Classic Scooterist * Fast Bikes * Heritage Railway * Kitchen Garden * Motorcycle Sport & Leisure * Motor Cycle Monthly * Old Bike Mart * On 2 Wheels * Rail Express *

Railways Illustrated ''Railways Illustrated'' is a British monthly railway magazine. Aimed at railway enthusiasts, it includes news, detail of stock changes, tours, and more. Founded in 2003 by Ian Allan Publishing, it was published by Key Publishing from 2012 ...

RE & RI become shedmates '' Rail Express'' issue 294 November 2020 page 9 * RealClassic * Scootering * Steam Days * The Classic MotorCycle *

* Towpath Talk

Bookazines

Mortons publishes between 20-25 one-off magazine editions each year known as bookazines. These cover a variety of subjects often linked to major historical events and anniversaries.

Online

Supporting its printed publication range, Mortons produces various online products and digital platforms including motorcycle news websites MoreBikes and O2W, and Kitchen Garden.

Events

Mortons organises and promotes more than 30 individual events: * 'Normous Newark Autojumble, Newark Showground (x 10) * The Kempton Park Motorcycle Autojumbles, Kempton Park racecourse (x 7) * The Carole Nash Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic, Newark Showground * The Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show, Bath and West Showground * The Footman James Great Western Classic Car Show, Bath and West Showground * The Classic Dirt Bike Show Sponsored by Hagon Shocks, Telford International Centre * The Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show, Staffordshire County Showground * The Footman James Bristol Classic Car Show, Bath and West Showground * The Carole Nash Eurojumble,

Netley Marsh Netley Marsh is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, close to the town of Totton. It lies within the New Forest District, and the New Forest National Park. It is the supposed site of the battle between an invading Anglo Saxon army, under ...

* The Carole Nash Classic Mechanics Show, Staffordshire County Showground * The International Dirt Bike Show in partnership with MOTUL, Staffordshire County Showground * The Footman James Classic Vehicle Restoration Show, Bath and West Showground

Mortons Print

Printing has been the heartbeat of Mortons since it was founded, and the current company's Print division produces a number of weekly newspapers and one-off/regular of contract jobs. Its printing press was originally housed at the ''Horncastle News'' building in the centre of the town, but by 1979 it had outgrown the facility and moved to new premises on Boston Road Industrial Site where Mortons' main HQ still sits today. Mortons Print is a regular entrant at the annual news awards, and in 2016 its work on
Fishing News
' was recognised with the title named Niche Market Newspaper of the Year at a ceremony in London.

Mortons Mailing

In January 2010 Mortons announced the acquisition of Lincolnshire Mailing Company to add capabilities encompassing polywrapping and lettering services to its services. Lincolnshire Mailing Company had been a long-standing supplier to the Mortons Media Group for more than 15 years and had relocated its operation to factory units within the Mortons site in 2004.

Mortons Archive

Comprising the historical archives of ''

The Motor Cycle ''The Motor Cycle'' was one of the first British magazines about motorcycles. Launched by Iliffe and Sons Ltd in 1903, its blue cover led to it being called "The Blue 'un" to help distinguish it from its rival publication ''Motor Cycling (mag ...

'' and ''Motor Cycling''
Mortons Archive
contains more than four million images dating back the earliest days of motorcycle development.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mortons Of Horncastle Companies based in Lincolnshire Mass media in Lincolnshire Publishing companies established in 1885 Printing companies of the United Kingdom Magazine publishing companies of the United Kingdom Newspaper companies of the United Kingdom Horncastle 1885 establishments in England