Recent updates

Craven Accordion Orchestra - Concert Success - Sunday March 15th

An update for Going Further - 4 - Ukraine!

Mar 16 2025

Dear Supporters of Going Further 4 Ukraine,

Many thanks must go for yesterday's wonderful concert, to the Craven Accordion Orchestra whose performance was a great success, there were approximately 100 people in attendance.

Special thanks are also extended to:-

• The Reverend John Davies, Vicar of St James Parish Church, Clapham-cum-Newby where the concert was held in a spiritually fitting and warm location! 
• Thanks too to Brian Close, Denise and all the parishioners of Bethel Chapel, Cross Haw Lane, Clapham, for their very generous donation, which included the costs of all the refreshments and drinks for the audience, performers and helpers as well as a substantial cash donation.
• Thanks must also go to the audience who attended on what was a lovely sunny day whose applause was greatly received by the orchestra and organisers!
• Thanks too to all those kind and generous people who have made donations
• A special thank you to Judith, Jess and Liz for helping me set up and clear up the church after the concert. Many hands made light work.
• Thanks also to all the helpers who served the refreshments during the interval.

After all costs for necessary expenses have been deducted a grand total of £385.95 is going to be donated to British Ukrainian Aid to support the purchase of an ambulance and medical equipment.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED IN MAKING THE CONCERT A SUCCESS.

You are helping to save lives in Ukraine! 🇺🇦 

Slava Ukraini! Heroiam Slava!

Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!

From Tony, Daniel & Levko Walker!

Award from National Lottery Heritage Fund

An update for Jacobs Wells Baths

Feb 24 2025

Hotwells & Cliftonwood Community Association 50th Anniversary, Image:Sibusiso Tshabalala

We have reached a pivotal milestone in our restoration efforts, receiving a £252k Development Phase grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to advance our renovation plans alongside developing an engagement and participation plan for ongoing community and youth activities. 

Over the next 12 months we will be announcing opportunities for our local community to get involved in shaping the future of Jacobs Wells Baths. Building on previous community-driven heritage projects such as Washing In The Well, we are excited to be working with Local Learning to capture the voices of young people, city-wide arts networks and local residents. 

During this Development Phase we will also progress the design work for the North Wing of the building, supporting our plans to apply for a £2m+ grant from National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2026 to complete the site's transformation into a new multi-purpose community arts and heritage hub for Hotwells.

To help facilitate this exciting development, Trinity is seeking a full-time Heritage Project Manager to join the team. This role will lead the Development Phase of the project, with a focus on managing community engagement, overseeing stakeholder relationships, supporting design team consultation and creating a learning and participation activity plan to be delivered in 2026 alongside the phase 2 capital works. Job description and application details can be found on Trinity's website. 

While this latest grant offer is a significant step forward, we still need to raise vital match funding to unlock the full potential of this ambitious recovery effort. Every donation, no matter the size, will help us reimagine a bright new future for this historic building.

Going Further For Ukraine....

An update for Yorkshire Dales Three Peaks - Hike for Ukraine

Jan 19 2025

Dear All,

Diary dates for 2025 ...

Going Further - 4 - Ukraine!

In 2025, we are organising two projects in an effort to raise funds for Ukrainian battlefield hospitals, to provide medical equipment, bandages and medicines.

1. Concert - 4 - Ukraine!

The first project will be a concert on Saturday 15th March, 2025 between 2pm and 4pm, performed by the Craven Accordion Orchestra.  It will be held in St James Parish Church, Clapham-cum-Newby, North Yorkshire, LA2 8DT (parking is available in the main Yorkshire Dales National Park car park in the village centre, LA2 8EQ.

There is no fee for entry, but donations will be gathered from those attending who wish to support this cause.

Hot and cold drinks, cake and biscuits will be available during the concert interval.

It would be lovely to see you at the concert, in this beautiful church.

Many thanks to vicar Revd. John Davies and his parishioners for permitting this concert to go ahead.

........................

Walk - 4 - Ukraine!

Our second project, will be completed by Tony and Levko when they complete a 1,215 mile, end to end walk of the British Isles, from the Isles of Scilly to Ootsa in the Shetland Isles, starting in April and ending in July, 2025.

Further details of the 🇬🇧 'Walk-4-Ukraine! 🇺🇦 will be published in due course, so you can support this challenge as it happens!

You can also arrange to walk with Tony and Levko for a day by raising sponsorship for them.

Donations from the walk will help to fund a vehicle that can be used as an ambulance in Ukraine.

Watch this space. 

Tony & Daniel Walker 

And of course Levko!

A year at Jacobs Wells

An update for Jacobs Wells Baths

Dec 19 2024

Trinity patron, Miriam Margolyes, visits Jacobs Wells. Photo Alistair Brookes, KoLAB Studios

The last year at Jacobs Wells we have been focussing on leading further investigations of previously out of reach areas to determine the condition of the building, leading to some fascinating and unexpected discoveries.

By uncovering elements of the building, including removing stonework and cutting back the vegetation that has been creeping into the building, we can determine what is salvageable and which areas might need to be entirely rebuilt.

The Pump Room

Further works have now been paused in the Pump Room, following the discovery of a small bat roost of the lesser horseshoe bat - Rhinolophus Hipposideros. These species are listed in Annex II of the EU Habitats directive and so are protected by European legislation which means no further works can take place as long as they are there. Once we have undertaken the safe relocation of any bat roost with advice from Natural England, we can continue with planned asbestos decontamination that will enable the professional team to gain greater access to some of the more mysterious and unusual elements of the site.

The Pump Room is a unique area of heritage significance, featuring intact Victorian engineering, including large iron-cast water tanks that once held 60,000 gallons of water, fed by an ancient natural spring redirected from several local sources, including Jacob’s Well. By collaborating with industrial heritage engineering specialists, we will gain better understanding of this remarkable setup and develop a clear plan for the best use of this natural resource.

Our vision is to transform this space into rehearsal studios, informal performance areas and a café/bar, making this hidden gem accessible to the public for the first time.

Victorian Tiles

We are making strides with other repair works including the deconstruction of a parapet wall on the southern aspect of the building, roof repair works on areas not used by bats on the northern and eastern aspects and other small-scale works.

During recent cleaning trials, including external graffiti removal, specialists have uncovered yet more Victorian glazed tiles in the entrance corridor of the building, which have been painted over and hidden for decades.

This discovery accompanies the tiled finishes already uncovered within the Main Hall and underscores the importance of our investigation works, so that we can fully understand what lies beneath more modern finishes in order to ensure the building’s historical richness is sensitively restored and conserved for future generations.

Welcoming a new facilities manager

We’re excited to welcome Emma Brown as our new Facilities Manager. Emma will be working with our professional team to oversee capital repairs and maintenance at both the Trinity Centre and Jacobs Wells Baths.

With a wealth of experience in heritage conservation, Emma has previously served as Estates Manager for Tewkesbury Abbey and as Church Buildings Adviser for the Diocese of Bath & Wells.

She is also a Trustee of the Somerset Churches Trust and St Andrews Conservation Trust and a member of the Wells Cathedral Fabric Committee.

Emma’s passion for heritage, history, and conservation, combined with her extensive expertise, makes her the perfect addition to our team as we continue to care for these two iconic historic buildings.

Fundraising & support

We are grateful for the continued support from our funders and community, including the recent awards:

Centrica: Energy for Tomorrow - £84,600 to advance our renewable energy scheme

Historic England - £89,000 for expanded South Studio roof and masonry works

Support from individual donors on our Fundsufer

Order your limited edition prints by 06 Dec in time for festivities!

An update for Jacobs Wells Baths

Dec 2 2024

Reward 1: Limited Edition, A5 Glicee Print of an exclusive piece of artwork by local artist Amy Hutchings, depicting Jacobs Wells Baths.

Are you looking for a unique gift this festive season? Then look no further - we have not one but two artworks on offer as part of the mission to secure funds to repair, re-open and restore Jacobs Wells. Order your prints by 06 Dec to collect them in time for Christmas.

Reward 2: Jane Northcote illustration, A4 Print, Glicee Print. Printed on high-quality, 310gsm Canson Arches Aquarelle Paper

A limited edition screen-print of an original watercolour sketch by the talented artist, Jane Northcote. This exclusive artwork captures the essence of the Bristol Community Dance Centre on Jacobs Wells Road, the very place where so many of us have experienced the transformative power of movement.

Head to the pledges page to secure you print now.

Imagining a future for Jacobs Wells

An update for Jacobs Wells Baths

Nov 28 2024

Historic England visit Jacobs Wells Baths. Credit Alistair Brookes

A place to dance? A place for the community? A place to gather or a place to rehearse?

What are your hopes and dreams for the future of Jacobs Wells? We need your help to imagine the possibilities of Jacobs Wells as we breathe life back into this iconic building for future community use.

As part of our campaign to save Jacobs Wells Baths, we are calling for people to take part in a photoshoot. Working with Bristol-based photographer Khali Ackford, we will create a public photo series, capturing portraits of the people who will be at the centre of Jacobs Wells’ future. Through your participation, we can highlight the importance of our civic buildings and the impact on our community if those places are lost.

How to take part

If you would like to find out more about participating in the photo shoot, please email Trinity’s Producer, Esther Afikiruweh, at esther@trinitybristol.org.uk or call the office at 0117 935 1200, Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm.

Shoot dates will be on w/c Monday 09 Dec.  We will let people know  if they have been selected by Friday 06 Dec.

About the photographer

Khali Ackford has built up a name for his iconic portraiture, working at the heart of some of the most culturally significant moments in UK’s history, including the UK BLM movement, the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol and marches against male violence.

About Jacobs Wells Baths

Since the start of 2023, Trinity has been on a mission to save the Grade II listed Jacobs Wells Baths building, following the news that Bristol City Council had put the asset up for disposal. Since securing a 35-year Community Asset Transfer lease, we’ve completed emergency repairs to limit further damage to the building and Phase 1 Repair Works are now underway to bring the space back into community use by Autumn 2025.

Opinion: The Art of Transforming Municipal Buildings

An update for Jacobs Wells Baths

Nov 11 2024

At Trinity, we are committed to protecting public buildings and spaces and keeping them in the service of the local community.

As part of our mission to restore and reopen Jacobs Wells, a former public swimming baths and dance centre, into a vibrant community arts space, we have been gathering opinions from individuals with experience of breathing new life into former public buildings.

We recently caught up with Kathryn Chiswell Jones of Artspace Lifespace, to share their experiences of occupying public spaces and the opportunities this affords the local community.

Click the link below to read more:

https://www.trinitybristol.org.uk/about/news/opinion-transforming-buildings

Funding target reached!

An update for Camouflage helmet covers for Ukraine

Sep 20 2024

We are delighted that we have reached our target of £300. In total, we have now made over 100 helmet covers and have materials in stock for another 50 to 100. For this reason, we have closed the donations for the time being. Thank you to all our wonderful supporters who have made this happen.

The helmet covers are being used by Ukrainian defenders to protect them in the field. They use different colours in the different season. Our first batch were spring colours - greens and browns. We then purchased material direct from Lviv, which is for summer - more browns and neutral beigey colours. For the winter season, they need white, but are not requesting any of these at the moment. 

This is one of the helmet covers in summer colours.

Final Total Raised - 3 Peaks 4 Ukraine!

An update for Yorkshire Dales Three Peaks - Hike for Ukraine

Jul 14 2024

Dear Backers,

You have each helped to raise a grand total of £722 (£455 online and £267 in cash donations) for the camouflage helmet net project organised by the Settle Area Refugee Support Network in North Yorkshire.

This will facilitate the purchase of materials that will be used to make the helmet nets that will be sent to Ukraine for the soldiers defending their country on the Eastern Front.

You are all potential life savers and I am deeply grateful for your support.

Thank you once again,

Tony and Daniel Walker

Miriam Margolyes Visits Jacobs Wells

An update for Jacobs Wells Baths

Jul 12 2024

Miriam Margolyes - Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

Acclaimed actress Miriam Margolyes took time out of her busy tour schedule to visit Jacobs Wells Baths, showing her support for the ongoing recovery efforts of this historic building. As an early supporter of the campaign, and a patron of Trinity Community Arts, Miriam's visit highlights the importance of restoring Jacobs Wells as a vital community and cultural heritage hub.

“I’m thrilled to have a chance to visit Jacob’s Wells Baths and encourage the Council and my fellow-supporters with their exciting plans to return this listed building to the service of the local Community. This will help so many to have a go - opportunity knocks at last.” Miriam Margolyes

During her visit, Miriam Margolyes met with our team and some of the professional team from PH3 Design who have developed the recently approved planning scheme to restore the space. Planned works include a street-facing main entrance and modernisation of the previously unused ground floor Pump Room, transforming it into a new cafe-bar and studio.

Miriam's visit comes as we complete key milestones for the project, including securing planning and lease completion. This means we can now begin crucial Phase 1 Repairs including works to the main hall roof, funded by £1.6 million secured from the DLUHC Community Ownership Fund and match funders.

We are excited to now be able to move forward with our efforts to bring the building back into use as a multidisciplinary venue for arts, heritage, youth, community and educational use.

We want to give thanks to everyone who has so far shared in our journey to make this vision possible, including our Patron Miriam, Bristol City Council, local stakeholders and the Hotwells & Harbourside Community Association, who led campaign efforts to save the building from disposal.

Completion of the 35-year leasehold is still to be confirmed by asset owners, Bristol City Council.