From riots in 1831 to the Colston statue and Kill the Bill protests, Bristol has long been a city renowned for radical action. Now, as then, radicalism has been accompanied by an outpouring of creative responses - from poetry to illustration to performance.

Now, Stories of Resistance, a new nine-part podcast series has been launched, uncovering some of Bristol’s lesser-known stories of contemporary activism. From the story of how one moment changed the direction of a grassroots boxing club, to a mother’s journey into disability activism, to changing the face of environmentalism and pushing for better gender representation in the music industry, these podcasts explore the stories of ordinary people fighting for change.

"What I noticed was by taking part in this project people discovered that there are so many people battling injustices and fighting against social injustices and yet so often don’t see themselves as an activist." Miranda Rae, Community Journalist

The series was created by Bristol residents during workshops with award winning journalist and broadcaster Miranda Rae (Sound Women SW and Ujima Radio). Over four months Miranda hosted group and 1-2-1 training sessions where participants learned how to produce, research, record and present a podcast.

The podcasts were commissioned as part of Art of Resistance, our two-year Heritage Lottery Funded project that has been exploring, documenting and celebrating the human stories behind activist movements in Bristol.

The podcasts will be distributed on Ujima Radio on Sundays  throughout January at 11am starting on 08 Jan throughout January 2023 and will include interviews with the creators as well as Dr Edson Burton, who is the driving force behind the project. Please note that the episodes may include language and topics that may not be suitable for all audiences.

Listen now on Spotify

Workers hand carved new stone - even during the snow! Photo@Khali Ackford

#1 Emma Harvey, Centre Director

“It has to be when we did some researching into the last wedding that happened on the 26th March 1976 at Trinity. We managed to find someone whose name matched the couples on social media and decided to direct message them. It was moment of high anxiety to see the icon that they where messaging us back!

Thankfully it was to say that they where still happily married and that they were super happy we had contacted them. Cheers from us to them for 42 years together!”

Our Heart & Soul project took place alongside major repairs to Trinity. Here a participant creates woodcuts, inspired by Trinity's history. Photo@Khali Ackford

#2 Fidel Meraz, Trinity Board Member

“Sharing pizza and drinks during an afternoon with the staff and the stonemasons who were doing most of the the material work on the building, is such a wonderful memory.”

#3&4 Karina Castro, Project Manager

“ I am going to choose two .. if that is allowed … first up has to be 'A Waltz Down Memory Lane' (20 April) - a great afternoon of dancing, cakes and memory sharing attended by over 40 people over 55. This was made even more amazing by having Norma's Groovers back at Trinity entertaining our friends.

Dr McClymont's talk looked at how we repurpose old buildings. Photo@Khali Ackford

Then, Dr Katie McClymont's 'and the spirit lingered on' (19 June) - a really engaging talk that got everybody involved (inc Khali, the photographer!) about how historic buildings, particularly former churches, are now used as sites of secular worship and as community hubs."

Centre Director Emma Harvey shares the floor with TCA founder Matthew Hewitt and long standing DM and former Centre Manager Derreck Sterling. Photo@Khali Ackford

#5 Glyn Everett, Chair of Trustees
“I really enjoyed the talk 'Reconstructing Trinity from Disrepair to Glory' (31 July) - A wonderful conversation around the different moments of history that the Trinity has seen, and all the heartfelt effort that has gone into keeping the building open, safe and working for the communities that surround it."

About Heart & Soul

From January to October 2018 we celebrated Trinity's place at the heart of the community through a programme of accessible heritage activities, workshops and events. The activities took place alongside our most recent capital works to conserve and renovate the building and where funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic England, Bristol City Council and other charitable Trusts & Foundations.

We welcomed Wilbert Smith from Heritage Lottery Fund to the celebration

Andy Council's Trinity Fox finds a home in the main hall

We opened up Trinity so all could have a look around - here participants from The Democratic Set check out The Visible Girls exhibition

Heart & Soul intern Tess chats with attendees at the celebration

Trinity member Stacey from Up Our Street places her vote

Trinity Centre Director Emma Harvey talks about the Heart & Soul project

Simi from Awaz, a weekly community group held at Trinity takes a moment to say thank you

Volunteer Rob's History of Trinity music set awed us all

Love this album? Then check out our Facebook for more photos.

Silent Hobo and Mr Riks paint Trinity's reception in 2015

As part of our Heart & Soul project we are looking to commission artists to produce creative responses to key moments in Trinity’s history. The works created will be on semi permanent display in the building and become part of the indoor visual history trail that will be completed in Oct 2018.

Trinity already has a DJ Derek Stencil by artist Stewy, painted in celebration of a generous donation to our Youth Music project by Sweet Memory Sounds - a trust set up by Derek’s family and friends to keep Derek’s musical legacy going. We also have a mural painted by Bristol artists Silent Hobo and Mr Riks in our reception area, painted in 2015 during our last major capital works.

We imagine that the artwork could be a stencil or mural, painted, or sprayed, directly onto the walls:

- inspired by the history of the building

- appropriate to our audiences

- celebrating Trinity’s history

- Tells a story of Trinity

- Celebrates Trinity as the centre of community activity

We will work with artists to decide where the artworks will be and suggest artists come to the the site visit 21st Aug to have a tour of the building.  The total budget for all commissions is £2500 and could be spread across a few artists, or on a larger commission.

Artists can have full access to our archive – an extensive collection of images, flyers, posters, newspaper articles & oral interviews from the 1832 to the current day.

Download the full brief here

Deadline for submissions is Friday 31st August 2018, 12:00pm

Site visit Tuesday 21st August from 12:00pm - 7:00pm

The art work needs to be completed by Sunday 30th September 2018

The total commissioning budget is £2500 to include artists time and materials.

Have any questions? Then click here to send us an email

Fyfe Hall filled up for the penultimate talk in the series @Khali Ackford

There was a lot of excitement within the team about this event as we knew the panel members would be really interesting and bring good insight to Bristol’s current art scene. There was a last minute change so Daniel Balla from Coexist joined us in place of Greg Bond who was unable to attend. Michele Curtis and Doug Francis joined us as planned, and our own Dr Edson Burton chaired the evening.

Coexist’s Daniel started by explaining their approach to serving the community. He spoke about the way that cultural ecology is not fixed, it is constantly recreated. A central concern of gentrification has and always will be the displacement of people from the community that used to occupy that space, physically or spiritually, in society. Some art installations at Hamilton House have expressed this by communicating the unpredictable nature of the facade and behind by having volunteers speak about their lives behind a screen for attendees to listen to. He mentioned that national newspapers such as The Guardian site Stokes Croft as the epitome of gentrification, so Coexist have a big responsibility to critique their own actions and what other organisations do to serve their community.

"Should we be calling this gentrification at all or rather redevelopment? What defines gentrification could simply be the monetisation of the social world."

One of the main subjects of conversation throughout the evening was the need to conform with capitalist needs while making art, in order to succeed. These organisations have rent to pay and therefore have had to learn how to generate capital through a variety of means. In the case of Coexist, they have hosted activist groups such as the Bristol Drugs Project as well as commercial income from artist studios, dance studios, and desk space. The model has to be reactive to the community, for example after engaging with the community to see where the need was, they set up a Somali kitchen.

On the panel from left to right, Coexit's Daniel Balla, Trinity'sDr Edson Burton, ASLS's Doug Francis and visual artist Michele Curtis @Khali Ackford

There were also questions raised about the use of language- should we be calling this gentrification at all or rather redevelopment? What defines gentrification could simply be the monetisation of the social world. In terms of where Coexist sits- the future is uncertain. The organisation always assumed it would be able to buy the building when the time was right, however this year their landlords have quadrupled the rent, throwing all future plans into the air. This has motivated the team to think about Coexist’s future. They critiqued the system and they now want to make a network between arts organisations so that they can support and stand up for one another like a union.

Michele Curtis’s career in visual art began in 2015 in St Paul’s with a mural and walking tour project. She wanted to communicate the local history visually by painting large murals, and proposed this idea to somebody, who strongly advised to act immediately. Michele described how at the time she did not consider why, but that with hindsight she believes he gave this advice because he could see the area was changing and in the near future, people living there would not want massive murals of black people’s portraits. She projected to the audience a feeling of motivation, encouraging artists to act on their ideas and make art happen.

"...the power lies with artists, therefore we must continue to make art, and fight for arts organisations."

Doug Francis comes from a long art background, originally doing events in the Portobello Road area of London before moving to Bristol where there was still opportunity. In this instance, Doug talks about opportunity in terms of buildings that can still be used to hold raves, parties and art events cheaply or for free. He said that he did not look forward to anticipate what would be happening now. With friends, he occupied garages up Cheltenham Road, and what they did differently from other groups of artists was they opened up their squat to invite the local community in. Doug is also the ringmaster of The Invisible Circus, with outrageous costumes, props and staging. When Artspace Lifespace took The Island over from Urban Splash, with enormous pride he described it as the clowns taking over the police station, the lunatics taking over the asylum. Other venues they have around Bristol include the Loco Club under Temple Meads, the Vestibules at the Council House on College Green, and most recently acquired, Ashton Court.

He has made art in many ways and in lots of different places and media. Recently he even had a job in the Somerset council, trying to re-purpose the Tropicana Centre after Banksy’s Dismaland residency. The feeling we were left with was that the power lies with artists, therefore we must continue to make art, and fight for arts organisations.

Questions from the floor created lively debate about gentrification in Bristol. Photo @Khali Ackford

After each panellist had spoken about their work individually, the floor was open to questions. There was a good mixture of debate, and a sense that the audience was in it together, fighting for the same side. The amount of knowledge sharing was inspiring, for example an audience member made us all aware about the Living in Vehicles consultation which is happening at Bristol City Council.

The panel made it a richly interesting, energetic evening of discussion, for which we thank them.  Catch the last talk in our series on the 31st July at 7pm, ‘Reconstructing Trinity: From Disrepair to Glory’. It will be another panel discussion featuring Trinity members past and present, don’t miss out.

These notes are written by Tess Sieling, who is the project intern on the Heart & Soul heritage project. Read more of her notes on our Tuesday talk series - Father Paul, Fidel Meraz, A Million Bricks of Love, and Same Building, Different Meaning. Our talk series explores the challenges and achievements of transforming and preserving historic buildings and is programmed in collaboration with Bristol's Architecture Centre and the University of West England (UWE).

Dr Katie McClymont's talk '...and The Spirit Lingered On' explored the idea of community spirituality photo@ Khali Ackford

As momentum builds to save Jacob Wells Baths and return the listed building to community use we are looking back at our archive and sharing our blogs exploring the importance of community spaces. In this blog, first published in 2018 as part of our Heart & Soul heritage project, we reflect on Dr Katie McClymont's  (UWE’s Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning) public talk about municipal spirituality and its social context.

"Before Katie’s talk I did not understand much about the subject but it was an enormously interesting presentation with many specific examples from around Bristol." Audience member

The talk began with an explanation of the meaning of municipal spirituality and the way it occurs in places with civic and spiritual functions. The term is quite broad and can be applied to music venues, libraries, ex-churches, parks, public spaces and community centres. The factor of whether the space is inside or outside is irrelevant, it is the sense of potential for togetherness or inclusivity that is the key. This feeling does not have to respond to an existing religion, it can be responding to something beyond the everyday realm. For example, cemeteries are not necessarily places of religion but to many people have an enormous sense of the spiritual.

As part of her talk, Katie showed examples of church buildings around Bristol that have been re-purposed. They are all buildings that she happened to be passing on her route around the city on a given day, showing how many church buildings are scattered across the city, and the great proportion of them which are being used for something different than the original purpose.

Katie talked about how, through the 1970s and 1980s, there was an exponential rate of church closures. Some of these still have a social function, such as a former church in Easton that is now a centre for supported independence. Currently the Church of England (C of E) closes around 20-25 churches per each year.

A report from the charity Locality documents this selling buildings and what comminities are doing in response to this.

"I found it very interesting to hear that C of E churches are available for sale, listed on the C of E website for the public to peruse. Some of them have descriptions about their future use, for example ‘for continued worship’, ‘community work’ or ‘suitable for a wide range of uses’." Tess Sieling, project intern

Katie cited the strange feeling around seeing churches for sale in such a matter of fact, straightforward way when in fact they are very special buildings. This raised the question: can you put a price on a church? Also, what judgements are being made about the buildings before they are sold? The example of the Bill’s restaurant chain taking over old church buildings was used, as Katie said that in some cases the insides are ripped out but the strong ethos from the church remains. Even in its new function, sometimes a feeling of the old spirit lingers on. Katie is a very passionate advocate about the amazing idea that churches will always be a place to create connections between people and others; people and the past; and people and something bigger than themselves.

Katie made a film about community art spaces around Bristol including Trinity, Jacobs Wells Baths, Barton Hill Settlement and St Mary Redcliffe Church. As well as being a great medium to communicate the joys of community spaces, Katie said that when they were interviewing people from these spaces, after being asked a question, the interviewee would often give a very telling pause before answering which she believes shows the sense of the community space working beyond its physical and material achievements. Sometimes when churches are changed into private use buildings like a holiday home it can feel wrong and perhaps this is due to that change away from its original ethos. Is it because there is a feeling of loss of the shared community space that once was there?

What is the value of a church when it no longer is a church? Photo credit @Khali Ackford

Sometimes when churches are changed into private use buildings like a holiday home it can feel wrong and perhaps this is due to that change away from its original ethos. Is it because there is a feeling of loss of the shared community space that once was there?

Churches have value. They have a common purpose and a built heritage. The debate is what is their value is and when is it lost? If the value is the sense of people coming together and socialising with people they would not normally, then spaces like Trinity offer us examples of activites that do this with great popularity and with no religious aspect.

Churches closing have caused massive losses to local communities. In addition, a lot of us now live in self selective communities, so where do you meet people different from you apart from in a doctor’s waiting room or on a bus?

Katie's talk highlighted the importance of having inclusive places where different people can engage in a meaningful way. Do we define using a church as a multi use community space as adapting the church or losing the church? As an increasing number of us are of no religion, perhaps we are adapting churches to keep them relevant and concerts, gigs and other actitivites offer us that place to congregate in our secular state.

This write up was by Tess Sieling, who was the project intern on the Heart & Soul heritage project. The talk was part of a series exploring the challenges and achievements of transforming and preserving historic buildings and was programmed in collaboration with Bristol's Architecture Centre and the University of West England (UWE).

How to get involved

Click here to sign the Hotwells and Cliftonwood petition to Save Jacobs Wells Baths

Further reading

Read more from Katie McClymont in her published journal, Spaces for Secular Faith

Read more from our Heart & Soul talk series - Father Paul, Fidel Meraz and A Million Bricks of Love.

Read more about the Save Jacobs Wells Campaign here.

Father Paul moved to Bristol in his 20's and is well loved in St Pauls @Khali Ackford

Before Father Paul’s talk I did not know much about him and his life in Bristol, but afterwards it was clear that he is regarded as family by the community in which he serves.

As the push continues to #SaveJWB, we look back to Trinity's 2018 Heart & Soul project and our series of talks where both national and international speakers shared their knowledge and experience on the positives and pitfalls of re-imaging historic buildings. In this blog we reflect on Father Paul's talk the re-purposing of churches as community spaces.

On the evening of Tuesday 29th May 2018, we were very grateful to Father Paul who stepped in to cover the planned speaker who was unfortunately unwell. He appeared an unconventional priest, wearing camouflage combat trousers and a shirt, very much living up to the talk title ‘Rebel Conformist’.

Before Father Paul’s talk I did not know much about him and his life in Bristol, but afterwards it was clear that he is regarded as family by the community in which he serves. He has touched the lives of a lot of people in Bristol, particularly the St Paul’s area where he has lived and worked most of his life.

Father Paul talked about the need for the church to respond to contemporary issues @Khali Ackford

Father Paul wants to be able to conduct these ceremonies and to celebrate love without judgement. He told many anecdotes about individuals from the community where he has worked, mostly to show that, "where there is life, there is hope".

Heart & Soul project coordinator, Dr Edson Burton, gave a warm introduction to Father Paul. Several audience members as well as Dr Burton clearly hold him in great affection, indicative of the widespread impact Father Paul has had over the years. In a childhood anecdote, Father Paul remembers growing up in Pontypridd, Wales, wishing he had a brother to play with as he only had one sister. Not until his twenties when he had moved to Bristol and settled in St Paul’s did he realise he was lucky enough to be surrounded by many many brothers and sisters now.

Father Paul started by talking about gay marriage, and the fact that in Wales and Scotland you can have a gay marriage in church, supported by the Church. However in England although you can have a civil partnership or gay marriage, you still cannot conduct these ceremonies as a vicar in a church. It saddens him that there is nothing in the wedding hymn book dedicated to LGBTQ marriage. Father Paul wants to be able to conduct these ceremonies and to celebrate love without judgement. He told many anecdotes about individuals from the community where he has worked, mostly to show that, "where there is life, there is hope".

On many occasions people have gone to Father Paul for help and he has been a huge support throughout the community. These pillars of the community that have not faded despite the move towards communities being started or maintained by technological means.

A lot of people fear that the sense of community relying on face to face contact is being lost due to societal changes- we all spend more time looking at screens. However, Father Paul is an example that where there are people living together in an area, there will always be community leaders and supporters, no matter the advances in technology. It is our human nature.

Many local residents attended Father Paul's talk @Khali Ackford

He says; "Things fit together in ways I don’t always understand but don’t object to." I enjoyed Father Paul’s talk because it shed light on the positive influence one person can have in a community. Tess Sieling, project intern

After Father Paul’s talk, he invited a friendly discussion within the group. We moved on to explore what is the role of the Church now? Is it to serve the spirit or to serve the law? There seems to be an openness particularly in Bristol and other large UK cities that is calling for the Church to serve the spirit. In contemporary society, issues that need addressing and the nature of human struggles have been changing, so there is a need for the Church to serve them in an equally contemporary way.

Perhaps a testament to Father Paul’s openness is the fact that at one stage, he was visiting a convicted murderer in prison in Cardiff while also planning the victim’s funeral in Bristol. He says; "Things fit together in ways I don’t always understand but don’t object to." I enjoyed Father Paul’s talk because it shed light on the positive influence one person can have in a community.

This write up was by Tess Sieling, who was the project intern on the Heart & Soul heritage project. The talk was part of a series exploring the challenges and achievements of transforming and preserving historic buildings and was programmed in collaboration with Bristol's Architecture Centre and the University of West England (UWE).

How to get involved

Click here to sign the Hotwells and Cliftonwood petition to Save Jacobs Wells Baths

Further reading

Read more from our Heart & Soul talk series - Dr Katie McClymont, Fidel Meraz and A Million Bricks of Love.

Read more about the Save Jacobs Wells Campaign here.

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

Many people attending the dance had connections with Trinity and Old Market

On Friday 20th April we opened up Trinity’s doors for "A Waltz Down Memory Lane" – an afternoon of dancing, cakes, memory sharing and good company.

Over 40 people came – amongst them many regulars from Gentle Dance, a weekly dance session for people over 55 at Trinity.  It was a great to see that many people who came had a connection with Trinity or the Old Market area.

Throughout the afternoon many, if not everyone, took their turn on the dance floor

A lovely time was had by all –  Dr Edson Burton was in attendance and spoke to many people at the dance about their memories of Old Market and Trinity.  Mark - who has lived around the area for half his life, shared his earliest memory – of bombing and fires and shared with Edson how he remembers using horses as transport!

We loved the many memories of major life events.  From Tony and Val’s memories of their first date in Old Market to Lynda sharing how her grandparents were married at Trinity.  Marilyn shared with us her memories of attending mass at Trinity, getting married here and also having her children Christened here.

Local band - Norma's Groovers entertained guests throughout the event

It was an absolutely lush afternoon and we are certainly excited about the next Waltz Down Memory Lane on Friday 8th June.  The event is open to anyone over 55 who likes to socialise, dance, meet new people and would like to share their memories of Trinity and Old Market. No need to book, just turn up!

A Waltz to Down Memory Lane is part of  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.

Help us secure Trinity's past, present and future

Fidel Meraz delivers his talk about re-using historic buildings. Image credit @Khali Photography

Our Heart & Soul project celebrated people's major life events at Trinity and ran alongside our current building conservation works. As part of the project we wanted to explore further the challenges and achievements of transforming and preserving historic buildings. The project included a series of talks, inviting both national and international speakers to share their knowledge and experience on the positives and pitfalls of re-imaging historic buildings.

Speaking from an architecture perspective about how a space can be adapted to better serve the community, Trinity Trustee and UWE Senior Lecturer Fidel Meraz delivered the first talk of this programme, and talked about buildings around the world where the function has changed over time, Feb 27 2018...

Most churches were originally built to hold a service once a week - by giving them a second life, the building accommodates for a far larger audience.

What was really compelling about Fidel’s talk was that he spoke in metaphors of the human life, about the way buildings are born as beautiful and well attended sacred buildings, then decline over time until finally they are not active. He used the example that when an elderly person struggles to walk, we give them crutches, and this is also the way he likes elderly buildings to be treated.

An interesting point was made that most churches were originally built to hold a service once a week, therefore in some cases by giving them a second life, the building accommodates for a far larger audience.

When we approach a church we have a predetermined view of what will be inside, Meraz explained, so it is exciting to be surprised by what we find. In Asturias, Spain, the Santa Barbara Church was abandoned and crumbling until the community took action. They raised money and with sponsorship from Red Bull too, it was converted into a vibrantly colourful indoor skate park.

Through time the architectural intention has changed from a place of worship to a space of activity, but the purpose of the building as a space to serve the community remains. He compared the Santa Barbara Church with the Trinity Centre because in both cases what you find on the inside is unexpected and fun.

A lively discussion began after Fidel's talk around Old Market and gentrification. Image credit @Khali Photography

From Fidel’s talk I learned that the world is full amazing ideas of how to reuse spaces. Tess Sieling, project intern

After the talk, Edson Burton invited a discussion between the audience and Meraz, in which the future of the Trinity Centre, Old Market and Bristol were spoken about. Concerns were voiced about the gentrification of Old Market area, which highlights the role the Trinity Centre plays in serving communities.

There is a sense that it is now in a crucial era where the Trinity Centre’s responsibility is to remain accessible to all communities without judgement and, from, Fidel’s talk I learned that the world is full amazing ideas of how to reuse spaces.

This write up was by Tess Sieling, who was the project intern on the Heart & Soul heritage project. The talk was part of a series exploring the challenges and achievements of transforming and preserving historic buildings and was programmed in collaboration with Bristol's Architecture Centre and the University of West England (UWE).

How to get involved

Click here to sign the Hotwells and Cliftonwood petition to Save Jacobs Wells Baths

Further reading

Read more from our Heart & Soul talk series - Father Paul, - Dr Katie McClymont, and A Million Bricks of Love.

Read more about the Save Jacobs Wells Campaign here.

Clare and Sam's wedding Aug 5 2017

'We got together around New Year and just clicked and ended up living together.' His wake was actually held at the Trinity. It's where we went back to..It was a strange circularness - saying hello and goodbye at Trinity.' (anonymous)

Celebratory, poignant, both weddings, christenings, wakes, funerals, parties - as part of our Heritage Project Heart & Soul we are looking for stories of your big event at Trinity to include in our online archive and celebration event.

It might be that you met a life long friend, a partner, here at an event. If you have a story and pictures to share with us contact Edson@3ca.org.uk or call Trinity on 0117 9351200 and ask to speak to either Edson or Karina.

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x-church in Gainsborough

As the push continues to #SaveJWB, we look back to Trinity's 2018 Heart & Soul project and our series of talks where both national and international speakers shared their knowledge and experience on the positives and pitfalls of re-imaging historic buildings. In this blog we invited Marcus Hammond, curator of x-church - a community space in Gainsborough, like no other - to come and share its story...

Over a million bricks hold together the love and forward-thinking acceptance of x-church. Marcus Hammond

Marcus Hammond bought a church building in 2006 and the night before he received the keys, the window got bricked. Therefore the first few days of his ownership were spent fixing the windows, and during this time he left the doors open. Children and young people walked right in and started playing in the space. This has lasted 12 years so far. ‘Now’, he said, ‘the building is almost incidental’.

It was interesting to learn that in the same way as the children wandering in, a lot of x-church’s journey happened almost accidentally: the building was described by someone as built in a slum-gothic way, and as well as enjoying the playful amalgamation of two words, Hammond and what was becoming a small team of volunteers decided it would be the name of a youth project.

x-church is host to many successful visual art installations

Physically building a place is hard but assembling the people is harder

They created a small dome structure for Slumgothic within the huge church space in which young people’s music and band practice can be contained. Immediately Hammond was building relationships with young people with total acceptance of who they are as individuals. Over time these relationships led to so much mutual respect that Marcus handed out keys to the front door. This helped with practical things such as not having to be there to unlock, but also gives the young people a sense of ownership of the building. With a mixture of surprise and pride, Hammond said, ‘So far, nothing bad has happened.’

The bare-brick architecture has become x-church’s strength and therefore not much has been added to make it more than a vast empty space. Marcus’s view is that physically building a place is hard but assembling the people is harder. For example, Mukhat Dar is open about his poignant story of how not all arts spaces end up in success as he reflects on The Drum Arts Centre (The Life & Death of an Arts Centre).

The x-church team like it when someone comes in and has a grand plan for an exhibition, show or event to hold there, and x-church is welcoming to almost all ideas. In a community like Gainsborough there is not an active interest in art or culture but x- church’s practice of ‘inconveniencing people with art’ proves that if you take it to the people they will engage.

From blocking out all the windows with card in order to turn x-church into a camera obscura to holding 24 hours of drumming for Syria, lots of events and exhibitions have taken place at x-church, some instigated by the young people and some by external artists. ‘Increasingly at x-church', according to Marcus, 'people don’t have a fear of making a fool of themselves.’ I agree wholeheartedly that there is a lot to be said for creating a space in which young people can take risks. In a time when young people are called upon to be available at all times via phones, it is increasingly important to allow freedom in other parts of their lives to benefit their wellbeing and independence.

Through loads of conversations and shared experiences, the lives of individuals and the Slumgothic community has been immeasurably touched. From what I heard at the talk, x-church is an inspiring example of what could be happening to benefit young people all over the world. Over a million bricks hold together the love and forward-thinking acceptance of x-church, but Marcus is not precious about what happens to the physical building, instead it is the people that matter. 'If the building collapsed we could just relocate somewhere else. Even to a field.'

This write up was by Tess Sieling, who was the project intern on the Heart & Soul heritage project. The talk was part of a series exploring the challenges and achievements of transforming and preserving historic buildings and was programmed in collaboration with Bristol's Architecture Centre and the University of West England (UWE).

How to get involved

Click here to sign the Hotwells and Cliftonwood petition to Save Jacobs Wells Baths

Further reading

Read more from our Heart & Soul talk series - Father Paul, Fidel Meraz and Dr Katie McClymont

Read more about the Save Jacobs Wells Campaign here.

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.

Lowie Trevena volunteers on our Heart & Soul project and while she is not helping out on the project she works for the Girl Guides. We asked her to chat to Maia, who is currently studying creative arts therapy at college and is at Trinity for a placement as part of her course.

As part of our Heart & Soul project we are collecting images, stories and archive material and Maia is going to be collecting stories from young people (18 - 30).

Hi Maia, what do you know about Trinity and have you been here before?

Trinity is a venue that does lots of music events, I have been here a Thali wedding in 2015 and Benjamin Zeph, who was really good.

Tell us more about Benjamin Zeph!

My mate got me a ticket and when I got to the Trinity Centre, half my family and friends were already here. It was fun; there was a great energy and I really enjoyed the spoken word. It was powerful, inspiring and I like to write poetry myself, so it was great. There was a mixed crowd, older and younger. It felt like my community was there; I’m from St Paul’s and I’m Bristol born and raised.

How old are you?

26, I’m going to be 27 soon.

Tell us a bit more about yourself

I write poetry, I draw, and I like read: the last book I read was the House of Games by Chris Johnston but my favourite book is How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. I like punk, drum and bass and rock music. After finishing school, I did a diploma in Media and I really enjoyed the course, so I then did a two-year Media and Moving Image course, and since then I have been making short films for different organisations.

What are you currently studying? I am studying a degree in creative art therapy, so I’m doing lots of drama, dance and working with children in mental health - it is the use of creative arts in a positive and therapeutic way. I chose it as I have always been a creative person. My house mate suggested this evening course which was a taster of the course I do now and I enjoyed it so much that I gave up my full time job in a coffee shop and started studying. That job felt like groundhog day!

What is important to you?

In myself, I am confident and happy, and I want to use my own abilities to help other people to be free, and in the future I want a job where every day is different. It is important to be happy confident and respectful and to work in cohesion with other people. I love being part of a team and being able to get involved and meet new people.

Why did you choose to volunteer at Trinity?

I started off as I have to do a placement to help support a project that is running as part of my course. I went to a networking event at a hotel in Redcliffe and I met a lady called Sally from Macmillan Cancer, and she put me in touch with Karina [Castro, Projects Manager at Trinity] and then it went from there.

Who do you want to interview?

I am looking to reach out to young people from 18 - 30 to ask them questions such as what their your favourite club night is, their best gig and why people like coming to Trinity. I’ll be asking people to be on camera and I’ll be going to lots of gigs and events to speak to people.

If you would like to share your memories of Trinity or speak to Maia, email: tess@3ca.org.uk or call Trinity 0117 9351200 to speak to a member of the Heritage team.

Help us secure Trinity's past, present and future

Clay, Stained Glass and Woodcarving workshops

Do you want to learn some of the craft skills that built Trinity? Would you like to have your work permanently displayed in Trinity? Would you like to make new friends from different walks of life? We are offering a new block of free workshops in Clay, Stained Glass and Woodcarving on Tuesdays between 3 Apr to 22 May.

Everyone is welcome to take part but older people, members of Bristol's BME communities and residents of BS5 & BS2 are particularly welcomed.

Please note these are NOT drop-in or taster sessions. You will get the most benefit from your workshop if you are able to complete all the sessions. All the workshops are delivered on the same day and time, so please select and commit to your preference in advance.

To find out more about the second block of workshops and reserve your place, please visit the What's On page of the Hearth & Soul section or click on one of the following links:

Clay with Joanna Espinner - Tuesdays, 11am-1pm from 3 April to 22 May (8 sessions)

Stained Glass with Liz Barton - Tuesdays, 11am-1pm from 10 Apr to 8 May (5 sessions)

Woodcarving with Daniel Bendel - Tuesdays, 11am-1pm from 10 Apr to 1 May (4 sessions)

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.