Armstrong Hall survival in the balance!

On Friday the 19th of July 2024 the Armstrong Hall Trust held a Public Consultation about the future of a Community and Arts venue for Thornbury. This resulted from a public meeting previously held last year on the 7th of December 2023 where the Armstrong Hall Charitable Trust asked all stakeholders (AHAA/TCA, Turnberries Leisure Centre, Theatre and Music groups etc.) to form three separate work groups to produce three sets of business plans for 1) a new Theatre at Turnberries or 2) a refurbishment of Armstrong Hall or 3) a complete rebuild of Armstrong Hall.

The Trust has since whittled the choices down to two options. Option T3 for a new theatre at Turnberries or option C a refurbishment of Armstrong Hall. The Trust appear to be heavily in favour of the Turnberries T3 option and Armstrong Hall is in real danger of permanent closure. The Trust has indicated that they intend to make a decision on Thursday the 25th of July at their next Town Council meeting, this despite the fact that the two remaining options were only presented to public on Friday the 19th of July, less than a week before their decision date (25th July), meaning that group C have had insufficient time to properly study the T3 proposal !

You will find the detailed comparison of the two competing options by clicking on this link.

If you wish to save Armstrong Hall please send your comments to James Murray or Danny Bonnet at armstronghalltrust@gmail.com

Armstrong Hall Closure

Until the start of Covid Pandemic in early 2020 the Armstrong Hall Complex (AHC) in Chapel Street, Thornbury was a much loved venue for the performing arts such as theatre and music groups. Many other community groups also met up there for a wide range of other activities. The complex includes Armstrong and Cossham halls, the foyer and other areas. The Thornbury District Museum is adjacent to this site. The local community were shocked and saddened when this vitally important venue was closed down during the Covid Pandemic (Stroud News 14th April 2021).

In March 2021 the Armstrong Hall Charitable Trust (Thornbury Town Council) announced that they would not be re-opening the Armstrong Hall Complex again (Thornbury Gazette 31st March 2021). The Trust cited that their reason for keeping the Armstrong Hall Complex closed was the high cost of repairs to re-open it and that funds for an ambitious project to rebuild the Armstrong Hall Complex were, as a result of the Pandemic, being diverted away from the project. At the time, the Armstrong Hall Trust also reported that they had already been in discussions with South Gloucestershire Council, the Armstrong Hall Trust and the trustees of Turnberries Community Centre to use it as an alternative community venue.

This was despite the fact that the Turnberries option was evidenced as being by far the least popular option in two public consultations held in 2017 and 2018.

AHAA Formation

In May 2021, an action group called the Armstrong Hall Action Alliance (AHAA) was formed to try to persuade the Armstrong Hall Charitable Trust to reconsider their decision to permanently close the hall and to allow AHAA to lease and run the Armstrong Hall Complex for a viable period under new management. However, this was to no avail and talks have now stalled. This despite the fact the action group presented a viability study (See AHAA Viability Study and Appendices) to maintain and operate the the hall. We are committed to changing the Trust’s stated closure plans.

Thornbury Community and Arts CIC

In February 2022 Thornbury Community and Arts CIC (TCA CIC) was formed. A CIC (Community Interest Company) is a Limited company which does not distribute any profits to its members and only has charitable aims. TCA CIC is fully co-operating with the Armstrong Hall Charitable Trust to produce the Business Plan to refurbish and re-open the Armstrong Hall Complex. It intends to play a major role in the Trust's plans to create a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) to run the new community enterprise.

AHAA aims

The aims of the Armstrong Hall Action Alliance are:

Armstrong Hall Funds

During subsequent negotiations with AHAA the Armstrong Hall Trust have repeatedly stated their intention, not only to dispose of Armstrong Hall in favour of the Turnberries site, but to also "ring-fence" the existing funds raised by and on behalf of the Armstrong Hall users and supporters and use these for the development of Turnberries. This is contrary to the wishes of many donors who gave these funds. AHAA are committed to ensuring that these funds are used for the purpose that which they were originally intended.

Cossham Hall

Cossham Hall in Chapel Street, Thornbury forms an important part of the Armstrong Hall Complex. It was built in 1780 and was originally known as The Old Wesleyan Chapel. It is known that John Wesley preached there on several occasions. It was later purchased and donated to the town by Handel Cossham in 1888 and still bears his name. It was used for smaller performances due to its valuable acoustics as well as cultural cinematic sessions. Unfortunately, it does not appear on the list of Thornbury Listed Buildings. It is however classed as an Uncategorised Community Asset and it lies within the the Thornbury Conservation Area which does afford it some protection. However, if the whole Armstrong Hall complex is sold to a developer, there is still a great danger that any site redevelopment could potentially see the Cossham Hall demolished and the link between Handel Cossham and Thornbury lost forever. It is a principle aim of AHAA/TCA to prevent this from happening.

There is a fascinating history of Cossham Hall by Thornbury Roots. See Cossham Hall (Thornbury Roots)

Public Poll 94% vote YES for a consultation

On Thursday the 26th of May 2022 a Public Poll was held about the future of the Armstrong Hall. The resulting vote was an overwhelming 94% in favour of asking Thornbury Town Council to hold a public consultation before deciding upon the future of Armstrong Hall. Although the poll is not binding on the Council it sends a clear message to the them that the community want to see the Armstrong Hall Complex re-opened again. For more information about this very important poll please please see our News Page.

Also see the following relevant press releases: