October 2, 2021 12.17 pm This story is over 43 months old

Lincoln Imp Trail auction raised £128k for charity

One of them sold for £10k!
The imps were lined up and lit up in Lincoln Cathedral for the charity auction. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The Lincoln Imp Trail auction at Lincoln Cathedral on Lincolnshire Day October 1 raised over £128,000 for the St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice charity.

The 31 statues went under the hammer at an average selling price of £4,000, with lot 23, A Little Lucky Imp, fetching the highest bid at £10,000 — but the new owner will remain private for now.

The popular Imp Trail was organised by Lincoln BIG and ran over the summer across the city, before coming to an end last month ahead of the farewell parade and auction.

The trail had its tricky moments, with several imps being damaged, some accidentally and some intentionally, over the course of their time in Lincoln. They were all of course repaired before the auction.

Overall, it was a successful trail and a landmark moment for Lincoln BIG CEO Sarah Loftus, who will be moving on soon to her new role as Managing Director at Make it York.

Sarah Loftus said: “It was a great evening in support of St Barnabas, and we would like to thank everyone for participating in the trail, our sponsors, artists and partners who made this trail the success it’s been, especially after the one year postponement due to the pandemic.”

Ian Walter from JH Walter ran the Imp Auction on the night, which raised over £128k for charity. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Ian Walter previously actioned for charity the Barons trail statues which raised £167k in 2015, and the Knights in 2017, raising almost £180k. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Professional auctioneer Ian Walter from JH Walter was the man with the hammer running the proceedings at Lincoln Cathedral on Friday night, and you can watch back the entire event on The Lincolnite‘s Facebook page, where it was streamed live.

The Lincolnite loved being involved in the trail, and adopted Wind, one of the five community imps, who toured Lincolnshire, including going on a rollercoaster, boat, and bus!

The Lincolnite Managing Editor Daniel Ionescu with Lincoln BIG CEO Sarah Loftus at the reception before the Imp auction. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

And the auction begins! | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The Imps sold for an average price of £4,000, with lot 23 A Lucky Imp sponsored by Chestnut Homes fetching £10k. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Meet the proud Imp owners — Pictured, Pete Watson from Distract. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite