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How a duck is putting a town 'back on the map'

Ben Sidwell,in Leominsterand
Alex McIntyre,West Midlands
BBC A man stands in the middle of a narrow high street wearing a yellow duck mask and a red coat. There are shops lining either side of the street.BBC
Christian Montez has been donning a duck mask and creating videos to promote Leominster's heritage

There are many creative ways to promote a town's heritage – but not many of them involve a "duck" creating viral videos.

The quacking idea was the brainchild of conservation architect Christian Montez, who has been donning a duck mask to highlight the history of his hometown of Leominster, Herefordshire.

As well as featuring himself in his unusual attire, the videos include catchy songs played along to images of some of the town's historical architecture.

Among the reels, which he posts on the Leominster Heritage Instagram profile, is one about corbels and barge boards, which has been viewed more than 2.8 million times.

"The duck's putting Leominster back on the map," Montez told BBC Midlands Today.

"It's a little market town in north Herefordshire - it's got a lot of history, it's got a lot to sing and dance about."

A man wearing a yellow duck mask and a large red coat has his left hand in his pocket, and his right hand is pointing to our left. He is standing on a road in a town centre.
The duck is often featured on the Leominster Heritage page on Instagram

He said the campaign was about instilling a sense of pride in the town and encouraging people to "take the time to look up".

"You can have your head down; you could be looking at your phone, and you don't often see what's around you," he added.

"If you just take those couple of minutes, there are corbels and barge boards."

The town has hundreds of listed buildings, including the Grade I-listed church, Leominster Priory, and Montez said some others dated as far back as the 13th Century.

A row of black and white terraced buildings in a town centre. People can be seen walking along the pavement.
Christian Montez describes Leominster as a "fiercely independent" town

He said he would sometimes work on buildings where old plasterboard had been taken down, uncovering parts that dated hundreds of years further back than they first thought.

"It's exciting," he added. "You go into a building; you feel a little bit like Indiana Jones discovering a tomb for the first time. It's all here to uncover."

Montez's videos have been seen across the world, and the creator has noticed people talking about them outside the area.

"I went to a meeting outside of Herefordshire, and as I walked in, people were talking about one of the songs," he added.

A close-up of a man with short dark curly hair, a dark beard and a brown shirt. He is standing in an old building with an old fashioned light shining behind him.
Christian Montez says there is "so much history" to uncover in Leominster

Asked what parts of Leominster's history he found so special, Montez referred to its connection with Saxon kings and its former nuclear bunker.

"There's an element of uncovering things but also, Leominster's Leominster – it's always been fiercely independent," he said.

"It kind of gets shrugged off a little bit… There's so much history here."

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