The Nylder, Lino cut print and digital elements, 2025

The Nylder is a socially engaged artwork by Emily Simpson, created in response to freshwater conservation work by the National Trust around the River Bollin in Cheshire. Emily worked with local communities, facilitating workshops to collectively imagine a new ‘folklore’ for the Henshall Ponds, which are currently being restored.

The final artwork is a print inspired by medieval woodcuts once used to alert people to supernatural happenings. It depicts The Nylder; a strange, three-headed newt believed to protect the Henshall Ponds, ensuring the water drains and returns in harmony. The creature is said to hold unnatural powers - one head watching the past, one the present, one the future, or perhaps seeing things we can’t yet conceive of. The folklore also tells of The Nylder’s disappearing habitat, and what that loss might mean for all of us.

The work considers the role of folklore and collective imagination; how stories can animate a landscape, inspiring reverence and awe. It also touches on ecological grief, asking whether folklore might offer a kind of protection to local habitats. Are we more likely to keep water unpolluted if we think of it as a living being? Or might we leave the ponds undisturbed altogether, for fear of waking something from the depths?

This project was commissioned by The National Trust and The Eductor, and was funded by the Government's Species Survival Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.