Stonemason Jim shows us the new stoneworks, replacing the damaged stone caused by corroded iron

“When they built this building, they just never expected it to last nearly 200 years” says Jim, who has been a stonemason for 10 years. He is using traditional skills to hand carve new stonework – mainly to replace rusted metal cramps and critically damaged stonework.

I am being taken on a tour of the building site by Shane, Trinity’s man for all things facilities. I am grateful for my hard hat as there is a lot of climbing the scaffolding. We climb right to the top and look to the farthest corner of the roof and see the pinnacle that Jim restored by hand.

The hand carved stonework is visible on the furthest pinnacle

As we go up hard not to notice the stained glass windows, many are buckled and bowed; a few put in upside down (possibly in the 1980’s restoration work); some cracked and others in a need of a deep clean.

The windows in the Graffiti Room are mid repair.

A boxing glove lost around the 80's is one of the many items found behind the windows come time capsules

Kerry, resident stained glass window expert, is carefully removing broken glass from a window on the north side of Trinity. By eye he manually cuts out a shape from some glass he has and skilfully places the glass between the lead, seals it and moves onto the next piece. He stands back and on the left is a window yet to do, and on the right is a window that is done. The contrast is quiet impressive.

Shane and I walk past an antenna that is attached to one of the towers (an echo back to the days when Trinity was host to its own community radio station) and head towards the West side of Trinity. Jim and his team have been busy up here, and you can see the repairs to the stoneworks, cracks that have been filled and hand carved stone replacing some of the most critically damaged stone.

I slowly edge towards the edge of the scaffolding and can see Old Market and further beyond, is central Bristol. It is a marvellous view, if not incredibly high. Going down is much easier than going up. Shane and I clamber down the ladders, past the stonemasons, the glaziers and site workers. I am grateful for my feet being back on the ground.

Walking to the edge of the scaffolding was really rather scary. But Bristol looked great

Back in January, with the scaffolding up, experts where able to do a full investigation that revealed the extensive critical historic damage to Trinity. These unexpected costs meant we launched our fundraising campaign to help us raise the much needed funds to undertake the critical repairs and have been overwhelmed by the support from funders and the public.

With only a few months left until the scaffolding comes down we need help to raise the much needed funds to undertake the critical repairs to Trinity. The public can help secure Trinity's past, present and future by donating directly to the campaign here.

What is clear is the commitment by the public, by us, by the craftsmen, the site workers, supporters and communities to renovating the Trinity Centre, ensuring that Trinity’s doors stay open for ours and for future generations.

Sarah Bentley (who really doesn't like heights ) Marketing Officer at Trinity

Help secure Trinity's past, present & future

Hello I am Amelia and I am donating some money to the Trinity Centre in Bristol, in memory of my mum.

The Trinity Community Garden delivers gardening and cooking workshops for lots of different members of the local community, engaging over 500 people every year. My mum's legacy will pay for disabled access to be put into the garden so it can be enjoyed by even MORE people.

I have visited the garden a few times now and went to one of the workshops the other day and it is the loveliest hidden gem. The people who run the workshops are fantastic. This would have been one of the things that my mum could really have benefited from because they run workshops for people with mental health issues and social isolation. I truly think they are invaluable and I know what a huge difference these kinds of things make, especially when, unfortunately, NHS mental health services are so stretched that people slip through the net. These workshops are FREE and anyone can go and there are highly trained people running them.

Many of you will know the Trinity Centre from gigs, fireworks or their big garden party, but maybe don't know more about it. It's a place that does so much for the community and is not for profit. They can get other funding to continue running projects, but not lump sums to pay for things like accessibility. Just imagine how many more people could benefit!

You don't have to give money or anything, just 5 minutes of your time, filling out a slightly dull form (sorry!!) and voting for the Trinity Community Garden project to receive "match" funding from the Aviva Community Fund competition. This means that the money I am giving the garden has the potential to be doubled if they win!

The projects with the most votes (the top 8 in each of the 4 categories) will be entered into the Competition Finals. There, a panel of judges will decide which projects will receive funding. There are 8 awards (2 in each category) for up to £25K.

Click here to vote now! Voting closes on Tuesday 21st November

For those of you who knew my mum will know that she LOVED gardening - to the extent that I would grump aged 5 "Mummy, you love your garden more than ME". She would have loved this place so much and could have benefited from it so much. We NEED more places like this in our community :)

This autumn, enjoy an amazing programme of film screenings exploring the bredth of talents of African and diaspora filmmakers with Afrika Eye 2024, the South West's biggest celebration of African film and culture.

The festival returns to Trinity in a new format - instead of a full-on festival, the team at Afrika Eye have created a season of enticing films to run throughout the autumn months at Bristol venues including Watershed, The Cube, and The Trinity Centre.

"Our programme reaches across genres and aims to bring in new audiences to the festival with a season of films, rich in stories, drama and cultural themes, celebrating and sharing the vibrancy and importance of African culture with a programme appealing to all ages and interests" - Annie Menter, Afrika Eye Festival Director

At Trinity we pleased to welcome three films celebrating Black female action heroes:

Sat 09 No is Gina Prince-Bythewood's 2022 film The Woman King, starring Viola Davis. There will be delicious West African food for you to enjoy as well as a special Dahomey cocktail - click here to get your tickets.

On Fri 15 Nov, step back into the gritty '70s for a double bill screening of films starring the iconic Pam Grier in classic blaxploitation films Coffy and Foxy Brown. Plus stick around for an informal, post-screening discussion with a selections of black female and non-binary guests speakers.

This year’s Afrika Eye festival promises a diverse programme, spanning contemporary African films, spoken word performances, dance, music, and more, appealing to audiences of all ages. Artists from across Africa and within the diaspora bring insights, creative ideas and extraordinary projects to broaden and enrich our knowledge of a continent that has for centuries been part of a shared history, without ever having an equal voice. Head to Afrika Eye's website to explore the full line up.

Ice Road by Raucous performed in Jacob Wells Baths. Photo credit Jack Offord

In October 2022 a decision was taken to pause the process of awarding fixed-term funding to the arts and cultural sector of Bristol, in order to ensure transparency and independent decision making.

Trinity are advocating for a similar level of scrutiny regarding the future of our city's community infrastructure, given these decisions will have a far greater long-term impact on our social and cultural fabric.

Our work to promote the plight of the city's community buildings falls in line with Trinity's charitable objective to "provide or assist in the provision of facilities in the interests of social welfare". Recently we outlined the value of our many community spaces in Bristol in our report: "A community canvas – building the case for community infrastructure 2022-2026"

The disposal of Jacobs Wells Baths

Since January this year we have been working with stakeholders to create a vision for Jacobs Wells Baths, a Grade II Listed building that holds within its walls a wealth of architectural and social heritage - from its time as a public swimming baths to its 30 year history as a dance hub.

Following the information that Jacobs Wells Baths is now being put forward for disposal Emma Harvey, CEO of Trinity Community Arts, has submitted a statement to Bristol City Councils Full Cabinet meeting 04 July 2023.

Emma Harvey CEO Trinity Community Arts Statement:

For over 15 years, I have been raising concerns about Bristol City Council's failure to adequately classify and protect its community buildings.

Today, I once again bring forth my concerns regarding the disposal process being tabled today. It highlights a lack of protective asset class for buildings like Jacobs Wells Baths and Ujima House, which have been listed for disposal alongside disused plots of land, an old lock-up garage and a former public toilet.

The reduction of irreplaceable community buildings to footnotes in a 400-page agenda pack raises questions about how irreversible decisions are made about the assets we own. Disposing of irreplaceable assets without adequate scrutiny or a consistently applied process jeopardises our connection to the past, erodes our present identity, and threatens the resilience of future communities. Such a decision should involve greater care than may given by an ‘estates rationalisation’ exercise, when these decisions risk eroding the city’s landscape of public spaces where our communities - growing in size and diversity - can connect, build trust, and foster unity.

"Bristol has the opportunity to lead the way and, rather than disposing of these cherished spaces with a dismissive wave, we could seek to adopt a new ‘Public Realm’ asset use class that can change the way we define and protect civic and cultural domains for all citizens. These assets belong to the people of Bristol and as our elected representatives you are entrusted by us to act as our guardians of these shared spaces."

These spaces are more than physical structures and worth considerably more than an old bog or a dumping ground. They represent a tangible connection to our city's heritage and have witnessed countless memories and community gatherings that have shaped our city's social fabric. Not only do these spaces connect and improve the daily lives of people in their surrounding areas, they can also act as significant local economic multipliers, generating jobs and supporting small businesses. Specifically Jacobs Wells Baths is the only community hub within a locality with a combined population of 25,000 residents.

As Trinity has already set out, it has every potential to service the needs of this locality’s diverse communities; residents of HMOs and adjacent social housing blocks, older and young people, who have no other hub for locally based service provision.

I ask the members of today’s Cabinet what is the legacy you want to leave behind?

I urge the Cabinet to re-evaluate this process, as the Mayor has done with other recent called-in decisions, such as the Cultural Investment Programme.

I urge members to consider the 2019 Land for the Many independent report, which advocates for changing the way we make decisions about these critical assets.

Bristol has the opportunity to lead the way and, rather than disposing of these cherished spaces with a dismissive wave, we could seek to adopt a new ‘Public Realm’ asset use class that can change the way we define and protect civic and cultural domains for all citizens. These assets belong to the people of Bristol and as our elected representatives you are entrusted by us to act as our guardians of these shared spaces.

Though your time in office may be limited, the decisions you make today will have lasting consequences for the communities of tomorrow. Please do not miss this once in a lifetime chance to make a positive impact to safeguard the legacy of these and other community buildings for the enrichment and well-being of present and future Bristolians.

Further information

We support Power to Change's We're Right Here Campaign that is building a united movement for community power.

Read more in George Monbiot's Land for the Many independent report that focuses on changing the way our assets are used, owned and governed

People gather outside Trinity at the start of the walks

This year we have four free guided walks around Trinity and Old Market. The walks are part of Heat & Soul  – a year long programme of heritage events, talks, and workshops. The guided walks, led by Dr Edson Burton are an opportunity for people to find out more about the history, and present of Trinity and Old Market.  Tess, our excellent heritage intern – joined Edson on the second instalment of the walks.

People gather in Trinity's main hall photo@Khali Ackford

The walk began inside Trinity’s main hall. Edson talked us through the history of Trinity from when it was a Church, through to desconscreation and first transformation as community arts venue  managed by the Caribbean Community Association  through to its current custodians, since 2004 Trinity Community Arts.

A visual timeline of Trinity past, present and future hangs in the main hall photo @Khali Ackford

Trinity has a covenant on it stating its purpose must be for social good whether that is education or community. Therefore a thread which has run through Trinity’s history is its use as a vocational skills education centre. Alongside this, Trinity is known for its music history – and has been host to the likes of Public Enemy, The Prodigy, U2, Madness, the Specials and the home of the Bristol Sound.

Funded was secured to transform Ffye Hall into a performance space  photo @Khali Ackford

We then headed upstairs to Fyfe Hall, named after one of its founder members of TCA Nick Fyfe. As part of TCA’s commitment to repairing and conserving the building funding was secured that built on earlier renovation work. The second floor was transformed into a beautiful dance/theatre/wedding space with sprung floor and underfloor heating.

Learning about the not so pleasant Amelia Dyer... photo @Khali Ackford

Before leaving Trinity's gates Edson told us a little of the story of Trinity Road. Some of the local history isn’t particularly pleasant such as Amelia Dyer who lived a stone’s throw from Trinity. Over thirty years during the 1800s she took money to re-home babies unwanted babies. To  ‘make an angel’ to use the expression. She was found to have killed an estimated 200-400 baby deaths caused by many babies across the UK. Amelia was hanged in 1896.

Even over grown gardens have a story to tell in Old Market photo @Khali Ackford

Edson started the walk down Braggs Lane so that we would begin the tour at the bottom of the Old Market. Edson pointed out various places of that were part of the meat trade a major industry in the Old Market area. This area used to be home to an abattoir, tannery and lard factory. We emerged at the Old Market roundabout where Edson spoke about the Empire Theater. Hollywood star Bristol born Cary Grant started his career working at the Empire. His friends remembered him having a broad Bristolian accent, not the transatlantic one he became famous for.

Building Temple Way changed the look of Old Market forever photo @Khali Ackford

We continued walking down Old Market Street and West Street, with fascinating snippets about the history of Kings Cinema, the Stag and Hounds pub and John Barstaple's almshouses, the Drill Hall and Kingsley Hall. As well as explaining passing on dates that the buildings were built Edson explained the changing fortunes of the street for example the decision to knock down a third of Old Market in order to create Temple Way. These explanations helped us to understand why some of the most iconic spaces in the street closed and how the Gay Quarter developed during the street's decline. The attendees added memories and family anecdotes of weddings, relations, working and socialising.

Our next heritage walk is July 31, places are free but you need to book online. We also have an online interactive archive of Trinity and Old Market, have an explore.

Heart & Soul: celebrating major life events at Trinity is a year long project running alongside our current works to repair and protect the Trinity building. You can find out more about the project here or find out about the building works, including how to support our current fundraising campaign, raising funds to secure Trinity's past, future and present.

Help secure Trinity's past, present & future

One of Trinity's charitable aims is to preserve, protect and improve for the public benefit the Trinity Centre - formerly the Holy Trinity Church - and promote the heritage of this building.

As a Grade II* Listed building, the former Holy Trinity Church is one of the most prominent façades in the Old Market Conservation area and a source of local identity and city pride.

Designed by renowned Birmingham architects Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson, it was built 1829-32 as part of a national programme of church building approved by Parliamentary commission. Funds for the programme totalling one and a half million pounds came in part from the spoils of Napoleonic War, hence these churches are variously known as the ‘Waterloo Churches’.

Deconsecrated in 1976, the building was purchased by Bristol Caribbean Community Enterprise Limited and has since served as a community arts centre for East Bristol.

In 2009 Trinity was placed on Historic England’s ‘At Risk’ Register, due to significant dilapidation of the building’s stonework, roofs and structure.

Since then, Trinity Community Arts have been working to carry out a phased repair programme, which saw the building removed from the At Risk Register in 2014, followed by a full structural repair programme 2017-18.

Heart & Soul project volunteer Lowie Trevena works part time with the Scouts, but  wanted to get more involved in the community in their spare time, and learn about the heritage and community surrounding such an important building. We got them to catch up with Davontay Benjamin, one of two intern’s on Trinity’s heritage and conservation project to find out more about what he is up to.

The internships were created to offer professional skills, experience and opportunity to young people from Bristol who may not have otherwise had access to employment or training. Through his internship, Davontay is gaining hands on training to learn the fundamental aspects of conservation work.

How did you find out about the internship and why did you apply?

I found out from my mother Natahsa Benjamin who runs Hype Dance, a weekly street dance classes for young people. Karina Castro, Projects Manager at Trinity told her about the internship because she knows I do construction at college.

Is there more to the internship than just making tea and coffee for everyone in the office? What is the best thing you’ve done so far?

Yes! The best thing so far has been learning how to do stone work and learning about the history of the building. I've found out a lot about how the building was orginally built - and lots about the bands that and the musians and bands that have played here.

What are you looking forward to during the rest of the internship?

Learning to fit windows because it will help me in the future.

What new skills have you learned?

All about different cement mixes and tools you have to use.

Lastly, would you recommend an internship at Trinity to other young people in Bristol?

Yes!

The two internships run alongside the final major-works phase relating to the repair and conservation of the historic fabric of the Trinity. With full scaffolding in place unforeseen historic damage to the building was uncovered; the stained glass windows were found to be no longer watertight, and the metal cramps, holding the historic Bath Stone in place, were found to be critically corroded, leading to an additional £200,000 of costs.

Historic England has backed Trinity with a pledge of £68k towards the critical works; we still; need to raise £130,000 to safeguard the future of the building. and we need your help, or Trinity will face closure.

The Trinity Centre is at risk, and you can help to safeguard it’s future.

This season of in house Theatre and Dance programme - IGNiTE we are talking about and celebrating change- changes in people's rights and changes in people's opinions and identities.

Our IGNiTE programming decisions are made in collaboration with our Programming Forum, who share their thoughts on potential shows. For this season, it was clear from the start that we had a great selection of strong female led companies interested in bringing their work to Trinity. All three shows are well crafted performances that tackle intimate themes, telling personal stories that have a universal reach. Having just celebrated International Women's day we are really quite proud to have Man on the Moon, by Keisha Thompson (March 23) , Ladylike by Ella Mesma (March 24) and The Headwrap diaries by Uchenna Dance (April 13) on the horizon.

Ella Mesma Company's show Ladylike challenges the representation of women, particualy the notion of what it is like to be 'ladylike'. We asked Ella ahead of her March 24 show at Trinity, to tell us a little more about her show and why she created it:

What drove you to make Ladylike?

We all need real life superheros who reflect and inspire us. Seeing someone who you can fit the shoes of just speaks in a different way. I had a dream to make Ladylike, a piece that reflected real women, latin women, black women, mixed women, break-women, superhero women. In the media: the women I was seeing were beautiful, but they were not heroes, they were ‘sidechicks’ without much script, and they weren’t doing the saving but being rescued… I wanted to make a piece where the women were dealing with the real life day to day… but fighting back like warriors!

Who is Ladylike for?

I think Ladylike is for everyone: all women! real women, latin women, black women, mixed women, break-women, superhero women… but also for men too… Last night I dreamt that one of the roles was played by a male friend of mine… and he smashed it! I think the story could equally be applied to men: It is about smashing the patriarchy (which all men should be on board with!)

What are the benefits of making a dance theatre piece?

I think dance theatre is about healing, speaking up, having a voice,… and so I think it is also a cleansing experience… a ritual, both for the performers and those watching

Catch Ladylike by Ella Mesma Company March 23. 7.30pm at The Trinity Centre. For tickets and more, head to IGNiTE's what's on.

Help us secure Trinity's past, present and future

Image Colin Moody

Art of Resistance is a 2-year project exploring 100 years of social activism, protest, and civil disobedience in Bristol, and the art that underpinned each movement.

We're looking for people who have artifacts or stories they would like to share to help build this picture of Bristol as a city of art and activism.

Whether your #resist story or art relates to Workers Rights, Women’s Equality, Anti-Racism, Anti-Fascism - or something else we haven't thought of - we'd love to hear from you.

In particular, we're really interested if any artwork, including poetry, textiles, posters, banners and ephemera, music and performing arts that were used to support and capture the spirit of different movements throughout the ages.

#GetInvolved

If you have digital material you can upload it here: Art Of Resistance Submission form.

If you have a physical item or would like to discus taking part in an interview to tell your own story, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Keep up to do with the project and other Trinity news and event sign up to our mailing list here.

The project is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.