Mortons of Horncastle
 |
|
| Industry | Publishing and printing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1885 |
| Founder | William Kirkham Morton |
| Headquarters | Horncastle, England, UK |
|
Area served
|
UK, Ireland |
|
Key people
|
Philip Sharpe (Chairman and CEO) |
| Products | Hobbyist magazines, newspapers, events and exhibitions |
| Services | Contract printing |
| Subsidiaries | Mortons Media Group |
| Website | Mortons of Horncastle |
Mortons of Horncastle Ltd is a publishing, events and printing company based in Horncastle in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire, England.
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 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 Media Group, 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.
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 standard in 1997.
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.
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 – first produced in 1897, the title celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2017.
...
Wikipedia