Revisiting the Drum: The life and death of an arts centre

Evening talk by Mukhtar Dar, presented as part of Heart & Soul project

Artist, producer, Mukhtar Dar explores the factors that might lead some historic transformations to succeed and others to fail. The demise of Birmingham art centre, The Drum, offers a poignant case study.

Reserve your place by following the ticket link or phoning 0117 935 1200.

About the project

Heart & Soul: celebrating major life events at Trinity Bristol. Throughout 2018 there will workshops, talks and heritage activities for all ages. The project runs along side our most recent capital works and has been made possible with the help of these funders .

You can find out more about the project, including how to get involved and how to contribute archive material here.

As you may know (by the sheer amount of scaffolding) we recently secured funding from Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic England, All Churches Trust and 14 other funders, to undertake essential works to the The Trinity Centre, a Grade II* listed building. Alongside the essential building works we are also launching the  heritage project ‘Heart & Soul: Celebrating major life events at Trinity Bristol’. Alongside activities we will be collecting images, archive footage and stories from people who have had big life events here.

From the christenings, when the building was a church, to a first birthday party, there are hundreds of stories out there from all the communities who live around and use Trinity.

Local artisans specialising in clay, woodcarving, stained glass and textiles will deliver a series of workshops in the traditional craft skills used in the initial 1800’s building of the centre.Everyone is welcome to take part but older people, members of Bristol's BME communities and residents of BS5 & BS2 are particularly welcomed.

We will also be welcoming national speakers to a series of accessible evening talks, devised in partnership with Bristol's Architecture Centre & the University of the West of England (UWE). Looking at the challenges and achievements of reusing historic buildings speakers include Tim Ronalds, who brings a unique perspective on transforming some of the Britain's most iconic buildings, like Wiltons Music Hall, The Hackney Empire & Jackson's Lane.

We have a programme of activities to suit a range of ages, including a podcast project in partnership with local schools, history quests for children and families and a series of guided heritage walks. For the young at heart we have two memory dances – a morning of dancing and delicious cakes. Hosted by Dr Edson Burton, participants we will be encouraged to share their stories and memories of Trinity. As with all our heritage projects we will be collecting stories from residents, community members and all those who have a story to share about celebration at Trinity. In October the stories, images and archive material will be exhibited at Trinity at our end of project celebration event.

There are also volunteer roles for those who wish to gain skills or have an interest in heritage, as well as a part-time Project Assistant Internship (24 week, entry-level career development)to help us deliver this programme.

You can find out more about the activities here, by picking up a brochure from Trinity or various venues, cafes, and community spaces across Bristol or you can download a copy of the brochure here.

Be part of our archive celebrating the history of Trinity and the communities of Old Market

As part of our Heart and Soul: Trinity in the Community project we will be collecting stories, pictures and memorabilia documenting Trinity as a space of unique celebration & commemoration. We would love to hear from people who have memories of special occasions at Trinity - from christenings to weddings to civil partnerships to wakes to parties - from when Trinity was church, and now as a community arts venue. Your stories and pictures will form part of our end of project exhibition and online archive.

Want to get involved? Have a great story to share? Then contact Dr Edson Burton for more details: edson@3ca.org.uk with the subject header: Heart and Soul: Trinity in the Community

About the project

Heart and Soul: Trinity in the Community is a celebration of big life events at Trinity. Throughout 2018 there will workshops, talks and heritage activities for all ages. The project runs along side our most recent capital works and has been made possible with the help of these funders .

You can find out more about Heart and Soul: Trinity in the Community here, including how to get involved and how to contribute archive material here.

Come and join the heritage team for a cup of tea and a chat about how to get involved in volunteering for our 2018 Heart and Soul heritage project.

Roles include archiving, stewarding and marketing support. In a volunteer role you will be fully supported by the team, so come down, meet new people and learn something new!

Sessions are on Tuesday 16th Jan, either 1pm-3pm or  7pm-9pm, no sign up required.

Find out more about the event here

Dr Edson Burton sharing the tales of Old Market's rich history in June 2018 @Khali Ackford

'Medieval market' bustling High Street' ' home to the city's most prestigious cinema, churches, and music halls, ' 'a red light district' 'Bristol's gay quarter' now described as up and coming before .

Trinity invites you to join us for a series of Heritage Walks of the Old Market area with historian & writer Dr Edson Burton. They will explore first hand the physical and social historical changes that are making the area increasingly popular.

Revival:

1. an improvement in the condition, strength, or fortunes of someone or something

2. an instance of something becoming popular, active, or important again

Through this series of guided walks, Dr Edson Burton reveals the ebb and flow of Trinity and Old Market's history. They take place on the following dates and times:

Thu 24th May, 6pm-8pm

Tue 12th June, 6pm-8pm

Tue 31st July, 2pm-4pm

Sun 16th Sep, 12pm-2pm (part of Bristol Doors Open Day)

Spaces are limited, so book your free place in advance, following the ticket links on each of the events

Head over the the Heart & Soul project page to find out about our other events and activities.

Car park closures, better building and a secured future

Thanks to help from the Heritage Lottery Fund and match funders, alongside donations gifted from the public we are finally at a point where we can put scaffolding around the building and begin to embark on major and much needed repairs to the stonework. Alongside the most damaged masonry we will be fixing the windows so the building will be cleaner and lighter.

Access to The Trinity Centre will stay the same but during the 45 weeks the scaffolding is up our car park capacity will be severely reduced so anyone visiting us should think about alternative parking or modes of transport.

Now we have got this far we are going to be raising the funds to complete works on all the masonry (not just the most severely damaged as we had planned). Fund-raising for this now will mean we ensure that Trinity stays open for future generations and by doing the extra work now means we can limit the impact both on the public and financially.

To celebrate Trinity's history we will be launching a series of events, talks, and courses in artisan crafts to compliment the works. You can  find out more about the project here. To keep up-to-date and informed about the project sign up to our mailing list at 3ca.org.uk/mail or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Works due to start 2 Oct for 45 weeks.

Trinity is glad to be part of Bristol Doors Open Days again this year and we will be opening our doors on two days: Thursday 7th and Sunday 10th September from 10am to 4pm.

See how our historic landmark has become a cultural hub for the city, hosting more than 300 events for over 56,000 people a year.

View the beautiful upstairs spaces and the stained-glass windows in the dramatic Fyfe Hall.

Don't miss the Graffiti Room's exhibition on 'Vice and Virtue' in Old Market and activities related to the building's heritage.

Explore our community garden and if it's sunny, have a picnic with us!

No need to book, just drop by

Adesola Akinleye & the Ila Dance project, Trinity's Garden Party 2017, image by Jessica Bartolini

“We are delighted to support the proposed improvements to Trinity – a very significant and important Grade II* listed Georgian building. For many years, Trinity Centre has been an excellent example of a building where the local community has been involved in its ongoing improvement and in the provision of an ever increasing range of activities and initiatives. This work continues to the present day and into the future. We wish Trinity Centre our ongoing support in securing the funds necessary to secure the future of both the building and of the important activities which it accommodates.” Bristol Civic Society

We are excited to announce Trinity Centre has been granted National Lottery funding to carry out essential repairs to the building. Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) have pledged £362,800 towards our Capital Repairs project that will include fixing the iconic towers, North aisle roof, stained glass windows and Bath stonework.  Historic England have also shown their support for the capital works, with a grant of £106,099.

A further £97k has also been raised from other supporters including Bristol City Council, Cory Environmental Trust Britain, the Pilgrim Trust, and ​Nisbets Trust​ as well as support through individual donations and a Crowdfunder appeal.  Other trusts who have supported the capital works to take place include The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation, The Bramble Trust and local heritage foundation The Gibbs Trust.  

Bristol Ageing Better and The Swire Charitable Trust are also supporting towards costs of activities, to include workshops in traditional heritage trades, a series of talks and a range of activities for children and families including heritage trails and quests to find out more about local history.

We are now looking to raise the remaining raise remaining £140k match-funding needed to cover the total costs of the project.

We still need help in raising the remaining 20% needed to complete the repairs. You can pledge your support via Trinity’s Just Giving page: visit ​www.3ca.org.uk/donate for more info, donate by Text Giving with ROOF 31 and your donation amount to 70070,  download the Trinity Anthem or buy some of our merch from our marketplace.

Portishead legend and Bristol-Sound pioneer Adrian Utley, together with world-renowned musician and guitarist John Parish, describe why they support Trinity's Notes for Notes Appeal in an interview, now available on You Tube

During the interview, John and Adrian explained why they are supporting the Trinity Centre by creating the "Trinity Anthem" for the Appeal, and Adrian goes on to remember his time performing with Portishead at Trinity back in the '90s.

For every £5 received in donation to the Appeal, Trinity will exchange a virtual musical note, and once 4,000 notes have been exchanged (£20,000), Adrian and John will release the Trinity Anthem - a unique piece of music that reflects and celebrates Trinity's rich 40 year musical heritage.

To support the Appeal, donate on our Just Giving page or by text to ROOF31 £5 to 70070

With thanks to Charlie Tothill, Chris Price (film & edition), Memotone (music).

Trinity Community Arts (TCA) has been awarded funding from Heritage Lottery Fund for the Trinity Centre Conservation Project.

Funding for an initial development phase will enable the centre to carry out surveys of the Grade II* listed building, in order to come up with a plan for repair works in 2017. Works will focus on repairs to the north aisle and slate roof, original stained glass window and stonework.

Over the last few years, there has been much investment to improve the Trinity Centre's facilities. With a footfall of over 50,000 each year, the planned repair works will help to ensure the community arts centre can continue long into the future.

Emma Harvey, Centre Manager of Trinity said; “Thanks previous support from English Heritage and the Big Lottery Fund, The Trinity Centre was removed English Heritage At Risk Register in 2014. However, with an old building like this, there is still much work to be done to repair the building. This support from Heritage Lottery Fund will help to ensure the community can continue to enjoy the space for decades to come."

The project will compliment previous capital repair and redevelopment works and will be the final major-works phase relating to the repair and conservation of the historic fabric. The capital works programme will be complimented by a range of heritage learning activities, including training in traditional heritage trades.

Alongside funding from Heritage Lottery Fund, the project development phase has also been supported by the Ashley, Easton, Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Partnership and the Quartet Community Foundation, with other supporters including Bristol's Rotary Club and Burgess Salmon.

Over the next year, the Trinity team will be working to raise the total funds needed to carry out the repair works and there will also be a number of job opportunities relating to the project. If you are interested in showing your support for the project or would like to know more visit: www.3ca.org.uk/activities/renovation for more information.

About Trinity's heritage

The Trinity Centre, Bristol, has been a diverse hub of community arts activities since its de-consecration as a place of worship in 1976. The building has been a prominent music venue for 50 years and has played host to a spectacular role-call of acts, becoming an important landmark in the globally exported 'Bristol Sound'.

Built between 1829-1832, the 'Waterloo Church' is considered to be one of the finest examples of the work of architects Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson. Trinity is an important Grade II* listed building, which retains significant townscape value in the context of Old Market Conservation Area, defined as "an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character and appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance."

Trinity's 41 stained-glass windows are one of the most striking but neglected features of the building. Built in an English Gothic Revival style, most of the mullioned windows and clerestory feature non-pictorial stained glass and have a Geometric Patten style using simple shapes. The building features a pictorial stained-glass panel in one of the South-East façade windows, with classical figures set against a background of vibrant colours, flanked by diaper quarries and foliage.

Trinity is situated within one of the most culturally diverse and economically deprived areas of the South West. Race, migration and the changing demographic of the surrounding area have played an important role in the history of the building. Over the years, the building has been managed by different community groups, who have all had a role to play in making the centre what it is today.

The Trinity Centre Conservation Project will help to explore some of this history and provide opportunities for people to share their stories and experiences, as well as learn about traditional heritage trades. Visit our Archive for more information.

Image by Jane Porter, BCC

Vice & Virtue took a look beneath the area's reputation to explore the many cultures that have lived here, its national significance as an area of architectural conservation and key moments of historical interest.

Themes included: the riots of 1932, the British and GI experience, business, trade and leisure in Old Market, the sex industry, the Gay quarter and new communities in Old Market.

The project - funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, Quartet Community Foundation and the Old Market Community Association - consisted of oral history and reminiscence activities designed to encourage members of the community, of all ages, to share their experiences, photos, documents and memorabilia.

This rigorously researched project built upon existing online and hard copy archive information. It culminated in an exhibition, book and heritage trail featuring all the work gathered through the project.

Old Market history

Much coverage given to the area often refers to it as having a 'seedy reputation'. Comments from other residents and traders have worked to counter this image, including Mr Ferris, a local publican commenting in a local newspaper article, “It's amazing we've done so well in the recession...more and more people are choosing to live here.”

Paul Bradburn, Chair of the Old Market Community Association said; “a project that celebrates the rich heritage of the area and allows the general community to appreciate that heritage will be a great benefit to the people of Bristol”.

The Vice & Virtue Project ran from Autumn 2013-Spring 2015.

Buy the book here!

What's Your Trinity Story? - funded by Heritage Lottery Fund Your Heritage Grant - featured an an oral history and archiving project about Trinity from 1960-today, with specific reference to its role as a music and community venue.

"The Trinity Centre has a fascinating history, and the Heritage Lottery Fund is really pleased to support this inspiring project which will capture what it has meant to people over the last 50 years." Nerys Watts, South West Heritage Lottery Fund Head of Region

Trinity's history

Trinity is probably best known for its role in the music scene of the 1990s, when it played host to some of the biggest domestic and international music stars of the time. Trinity's stage has been graced by the likes of U2, The Wailers and Public Enemy as well as local talents such as Massive Attack. It hosted many famous artists notably from the punk, and reggae genres, and was an important landmark in the globally exported "Bristol Sound" prominent during this era.

The space has also had a number of roles within the community over the years - from a bingo hall to a boxing ring - and is now run as a community arts centre with regular training, projects and events.

The heritage project consisted of workshop activities and sessions designed to engage the community of all ages in sharing their experiences and stories of the space. It involved detailed research to culminate in a final exhibition, book and online archive.

Click here to read the full evaluation report.