TROWBRIDGE TOWN HALL The bustling community hub in the town centre

The Town Hall is the bustling central hub of the community

THE TOWN HEART

An independent charitable trust, Trowbridge Town Hall is a resource for the town – with bookable space for everything from local choirs to courses, conferences and more besides, a zero waste shop, art and bookshop, café and gallery programme. We met the Town Hall team running the cultural and social hub

By Lydia Tewkesbury Main photos by Simon Taylor

When I call David Lockwood, director of Trowbridge Town Hall for our post-lockdown catch up – this article began in that distant, pre-Covid-19 era. You know the one; it feels like yesterday and at least a hundred years ago – he sounds a lot more optimistic than I was anticipating. Some welltimed emergency funding, a national level – they can see it.” So, what exactly is happening at Trowbridge Town Hall? Let’s get into it. David Lockwood, director The Town Hall is for ‘the benefit of the residents of the town forever’. What does this mean in practice? I found the plaYue that states this after I was oٺered the Rob but when I read it, everything clicked. This building was an expression of civic pride – that very Victorian notion of celebrating the place that you live. In practice, that means this building was built for the people of the one essential business (We Are Undressed – more on them later) and town. It’s theirs. So we’ve created a membership structure which means operating the café as a takeaway from the front steps mean they’ve they actually own it and the Board reports to the membership. It means made it through relatively unscathed. they can do what they want with the building, so long as it doesn’t ¹?e were on a Rournea anawaaº he e`plains. ¹4ots of cultural hurt anaone and doesn¼t cost us · though if it does we¼ll help to find organisations are now looking at how they can change themselves as the money. a result of Covid, but we were changing already and quite near the There’s something else here which is bigger for me. The centre of beginning of that Rournea besides so it gravity for our towns for millennia has wasn¼t too diٻcult for us.º been the marketplace. Now that retail This time hasn’t been completely without loss, though. Training activities “When you run a building is moving online, what sits at the centre of our settlements? What about a public like speed awareness training, CV writing training, etc, that the Town Hall used to that’s been there for 130 building, owned by the people, with multiple uses – a vibrant cultural and rely on for their income have all moved online – and David doesn’t anticipate years, it’s always been social hub. they’ll ever come back. “Conferences won’t happen this year, but they’re more through something before” You wanted the community involved in deciding what the space was used for, likely to come back. There are other right? How have you done that? opportunities too – with the rise of home <hrough listening. ?e¼ve Rust launched working, organisations are likely to seek opportunities to come together a public conversation the first phase of which is a bit blunt · a survea for social reasons.” The Town Hall could make the perfect venue for – but which will become deeper and more nuanced once we’ve got a that. “There’s always an opportunity, isn’t there? general sense of the answers. We want this conversation to be ongoing,

“When you run a building that’s been there for 130 years, it’s always too, so we’ll be working with communications experts to build it into been through something before – we’ve been through a pandemic a revised website and strategy. It’s a bit nebulous at the moment, but it before, in 1918, so it gives you a bit of perspective. If we get the next might looS a bit liSe a social media site. 7r we might Rust improve our five aears right then the building will still be here in  aears¼ time Facebook page... if we get the ne`t five aears wrong it¼ll probabla fall into a state of disrepair, at which point it’ll be pulled down.” You’ve done a lot of redevelopment of the Town Hall in recent

Isn’t that a lot of pressure? years. What’s changed? ,avid doesn¼t thinS so. ¹I Rust need to persuade other people of this I started a year ago in April, and the organisation had done a lot in its building’s potential. And people get it, both at a local level and first seven aears · clearing rooms acYuiring eYuipment and breathing

ABOVE: David Lockwood; RIGHT: Welcome to Trowbridge Town Hall

life into a building that had become quite fusty. Leyla Bakali-Laughton,

What I felt when I arrived was that it was still quite austere – it We Are Undressed had been a coroner’s court for a while and it still felt a bit cold. We’ve Tell us about the shop put a lot of eٺort into improving the welcome with gentle glowing ?e are a pacSagingfree shop and a notfor festoon lighting and comfortable furniture. +rucialla we invited in two profit · we raised Š from the communita independent businesses .ree :ange 8ies and ?e )re =ndressed who to open. ?e sell everathing from refillable now run a cafu in our foaer and <rowbridge¼s first bero waste shop. household cleaning liYuids shampoo and ?e¼ve also e`panded our art and booS shop which is carefulla and conditioner to herbs and spices pasta refillable oils and vinegars beautifulla curated ba )ntonia +ooS. reusable sanitara products bamboo toothbrushes beans and snacSs. How have you funded everything? fruit and vegetables from the local green grocers on the way home. I’m not going to feign modesty – we’ve been clever (and lucky). We’ve »?e )re =ndressed¼ from all pacSaging. Aou bring aour own containers worked with partners to deliver things that they’re good at – like a café. and Rars and bua as little or as much as aou want to save putting We’ve been able to clearly make the argument for why this space is anything into the bin. important for the lives of the people of Trowbridge. .or me that¼s obvious. <he town has struggled recentla. What inspired you to start the shop? ,emographicalla it has more in common with a 6orthern worSing ;ince having ma daughter I have been vera conscious of our impact town – those places that we hear so much about since the general on the world. ?e started using reusable nappies not buaing things in election. Our High Street isn’t as traditionally pretty as Bath. But pacSaging buaing most of our clothes from charita shops and walSing within that lies potential. a lot more. When we lived in Bristol there was an abundance of ) colleague from a theatre in *ath RoSingla told me »there isn¼t a wall sustainable and pacSagingfree shops but when I moved bacS home to in *ath that hasn¼t been .arrow and *all¼d¼. <hat¼s not the same in Trowbridge there weren’t any – the idea grew from there. If you want <rowbridge. <his town is all about potential. It¼s raw edga and e`citing. something wha not maSe it happen aourself ' .our months later ?e .unding here maSes a real diٺerence. .ortunatela so far funders have )re =ndressed opened. agreed with us. You’ve big plans for the building, haven’t you? It is the heart of Trowbridge town centre. Once you come through the The building is crumbling. It had a lot of changes in the 1970s which beautifulla carved doors aou are in a thriving communita hub. 8eople altered its use most significantla dividing up the historic /reat 0all are alwaas bumping into old friends neighbours and famila members · a ballroom which has hosted Sings Yueens suٺragettes and even <he the feeling is magical. ?ho. ?e want to get this and other rooms bacS. <o do this reYuires You can do your whole weekly shop here and then pick up your fresh Why the Town Hall? serious investment. .ortunatela we¼re positioned at the heart of You’re a community interest company. Tell us more. <rowbridge¼s .uture 0igh ;treets plan which could see millions of It was onla fitting that as a sustainable business I run things this pounds invested in the town by central government. We’ll hear in the waa. ?e are not trading to maSe big profits but purela to provide autumn whether we’ve got £7.5 million towards an accessible alternative to shopping with big this Š million capital proRect to redevelop the corporations that are not as ethically driven as Hall. This transformation is key to unlocking the full potential of this incredible building and “The feeling is a smaller independents without shareholders to pay out to. ?e donate to local environmental charities improving the lives of the  people who live in the town. magical” paa our staٺ national living wage and stocS as much localla and from within the =3 as possible.

Curator Jen hopes to see the art shows inspire locals’ own creativity

What have some of the challenges been? We have had issues with people realising where we are located, but nothing is perfect. We are discovering new ways daily how to advertise where we are, as well as keeping the momentum going online. Being the only sustainable business in town has worked out well, though there is a lot of pressure to stock everything, which as a small business we simpla cannot aٺord · and we don¼t have the space. ?e are learning what products sell best and I find Seeping on top of the new ones in demand, fun and challenging. www.weareundressed.shop

Antonia Cook, art and book shop Tell us about the art you stock. It¼s from artists across ?iltshire. ?e prioritise quality over local, but fortunately in this county the overlap is considerable. ?e¼ve also diversified the range of things we have · from prints and jewellery to candles and woven baskets. We also stock books

What goes into curating your book selection? I¼m led ba ma own tastes primarila. ?e¼re Seen to have things that aou won¼t find in ?aterstones booSs that maSe aou thinS but also booSs that you can cuddle up with on the sofa.

Alex Joll, Free Range Café and Deli We hear you’re known for your delicious free range pies... I started a pie company in 2014 in Bradford on Avon. Since then we have moved away from manufacturing and into catering. We still do mana food fairs over the summer · in a normal aear anawaa · selling our pies. *ut now we mostly focus on pie and mash weddings and events.

Our pies are still made in-house, using the recipes developed over the years. We have won several national pie awards and a couple of Taste of the West awards. We have traditional pies such as our steak and ale, pork and cider and chicken and mushroom, as well as a range of vegan pies and some gluten free. Always free range and as local ingredients as possible.

Sustainability is core to your business – could you tell us more about what that means day to day? This policy shapes the decisions we make about suppliers, favouring

The Free Range Café, in a time before social distancing

local small producers, as well as the way we make and sell our own-made products. We do not use single use plastics, for example, and use paper bags and boxes for takeaway.

Tell us more about that local produce Meat is as Wiltshire as possible. We use a Devizes butcher we have worked with for many years. We have worked with Kettlesmith Brewery (Bradford on Avon) and Iford Cider for a long time and happily continue to do so here. For years, I traded at markets across Wiltshire and the south west selling pies, standing next to traders, and now I have the opportunity to bring their products to the café. These include the Leafy Tea Company, Lacock Dairy and Lick the Spoon.

Why the Town Hall? I saw this was an opportunity to bring local to Trowbridge town centre and give the Town Hall a heart. David has a vision for the future of the building that we are thrilled to be a part of. www.freerangepies.co.uk

Jen Hamblin, visual arts curator for Trowbridge Town Hall What made you want to get involved with the Town Hall? Over the last few years we have seen many changes at the Town Hall. As an artist, I was thrilled to see the Town Hall engage with the arts, and alongside The Court Street Gallery (which I am also co-director of), Bridge House and refurbishment of <he <rowbridge 5useum it realla felt that <rowbridge¼s creativita was being celebrated at last. When we nearly lost the Town Hall in 2018, I became more involved and ever since have been keen to keep the space open for us all to enjoy.

The new vision for the Town Hall to return to the community to be enjoyed by everyone is exactlythe vision for the gallery space. I am keen for everyone in our area to feel comfortable and enjoy, engage and interact with the visual arts on display. Galleries can be scary places for those not familiar with the arts · I hope to change this perception ba oٺering a vera warm welcome and a safe environment.

What excites you about visual arts in Trowbridge? There are so many creative individuals living and practicing in Trowbridge. Recently there seems to be a gathering energy and we are coming together through places like The Court Street Gallery and The Cloth Road artists network. We are exhibiting together and as a collective we can share our skills and ideas, and provide support and help for one another. Artists like to be with other artists! The Town Hall will be integral in helping to build momentum within the visual arts in Trowbridge moving forward. It will be amazing to have yet another venue where we can celebrate what our area has to oٺer.

What might surprise people about the work you’ll be curating? I am hoping to provide exhibition experiences where people can engage and find their own creativita. <hrough opportunities to interact with both artists and the artworks on display, perhaps we can inspire others to find the confidence to e`plore creativita within themselves. n www.trowbridgetownhall.com