Stroudwater Textile Trust finds home after 20 year search

Stroud District Council's Strategy and Resources Committee approved plans to transfer the Old Town Hall to Stroud Valleys Artspace for a nominal sum.

Stroud Valley's Artspace and Stroudwater Textile Trust will now develop a Centre for Textile Arts in the heart of Stroud, creating a permanent home for the Trust and a major new cultural destination celebrating Stroud's rich textile heritage.

The Old Town Hall is a Grade II* listed property, with some parts dating back to 1596, it has played an important role in the town’s history for more than four centuries!

This new partnership will mean that that history continues. The space will be used as a centre for arts, culture and learning, celebrating the textile heritage of Stroud's famous woollen mills. The space will also be opened up for community use.

The transfer is particularly significant for the Stroudwater Textile Trust, who have been seeking a permement home for around 20 years!

Trevor Ford is Chair of Stroudwater Textile Trust.

He said, ''We are enormously grateful to Stroud District Council for giving us a home where we shall be able to celebrate Stroud’s amazing textile history."

David Elford, Stroud Valleys Artspace Trustee and Project Manager, said, “Stroud District Council’s support for this exciting venture highlights the enduring significance of textiles to Stroud and the surrounding valleys.

Textiles constitute a universal and creative language, with the power to engage and inspire people of all ages.

In partnership with the Stroudwater Textile Trust, Stroud Valleys Artspace looks forward to establishing a venue of regional significance - one that champions the work of textile designers and makers, brings their practice to a wider audience, and offers an exciting and inclusive programme for the whole community.”

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