I chose Lancaster Castle as the location for my piece, as the Pendle Witches were held, tried and sentenced in the castle. Though they were executed elsewhere, there are strong ties between the concept and the location, as the castle is also one of the strongest preservers of the history of the witches.
My piece was originally meant to be a sound and video installation, displayed via a projector inside the castle in the Pendle Witch tower. After initial emails with the castle representatives, I changed it to purely sound in order to work with space limitations. However, I had difficulty acquiring permission for this, as the castle took a long time to respond to me and, ultimately, ceased contact with me altogether a week before the deadline.
After dialoguing with a tutor about the issue (thank you Jen!), I decided to keep my piece as an audio file for participants to download and listen to through their phones. I also introduced the element of beginning the audio at the Pendle Witch memorial - which is very tucked away out of site and easy to miss, so I wanted to bring its presence to light by making it the starting point - and walking around the castle while listening to maintain the connection to the site. I requested everyone to stay outside, as spectators to the trials likely would have in 1612, but also to keep an element of looking in at events we cannot change or influence and can only hope to learn from.
I checked the timings of the audio with the time it took for me to walk around the castle exterior so the different spoken segments would align with different features (although in the time it took me to walk round) and also to check the audio would be long enough to last for an entire circuit of the castle, or at least most of one. I did, however, allow for the fact that some people may simply wish to stand and listen, and included that mention in my starting instructions.
I actually think that the audio worked better as a form of mobile installation, as it allowed a form of connection with the site through movement and visual observation, while listening to the audio drowned out surrounding distractions and provided a strong representation of my concept.