Lucy McCall is a founding trustee of Winchcombe Arts and Community Hub and Isbourne Arts.
It all began with an idea and it’s ended with a star performance.
When the Methodist Church in Winchcombe went on the market in 2022, inspiration struck. It was the perfect place for an arts and community hub. This is how we turned a dream into reality.
When the church went up for sale in autumn 2022, a group of local residents with a vision for the building’s future raised £500,000 in six months for its purchase, renovation and conversion. By December 2023 a newly formed charity owned the building and a month later renovation works were underway. By the summer of 2024 the public were welcomed into Isbourne Arts. Since opening, more successful fundraising has delivered a complete fit out of the main space for performance and more recently for screening. A smaller studio space will open in 2026.
I’m making it sound easy, aren’t I? It’s been a lot of hard work and not all of it as glitzy as the shows that we’ve put on. But the figures speak for themselves. In just one year Isbourne Arts staged 55 events, a mix of music, amateur and professional drama, farmers’ markets, family and community events and creative workshops, generating over 7300 visits from Winchcombe and beyond.
Now well into its second operating year, with more and more diverse events on offer, Isbourne Arts is rapidly establishing itself as well loved arts and community venue, fulfilling its mission as an inclusive arts and community hub fostering cultural engagement and creativity and strengthening community wellbeing and cohesion.
That’s part of the story I’ll be telling you. But I promise that behind the scenes can be just as interesting. Isbourne Arts is led by its trustees supported by teams of volunteers to coordinate and deliver events. Programming, a mix of promotions, hires and fundraisers, is planned by four programming groups with support from local charities and interest groups, including a music group and the Winchcombe Players, and growing partnerships with long established arts venues like The Roses in Tewkesbury.
And did I mention we’re all volunteers? Every single part of creating this special place has been made possible by volunteers. Thousands of hours of unpaid work to give our town a truly special place. Isbourne Arts welcomes new volunteers to participate in coordinating and delivering events. Roles include front of house, bar, refreshments and crew. There are also opportunities to learn about sound, lighting and projection.
The project’s funders include the UK Government (Community Ownership Fund), Gloucestershire County Council, Winchcombe’s residents, Tewkesbury Borough Council (Rural England Prosperity Fund), Enovert Community Trust, Winchcombe Rotary, local trusts and businesses, and the Pilgrim Trust. And I’ll be proud to tell you how we’ve all worked together to make the Izzy and keep it thriving. There’s a lot to get through!
I’ll be telling the story of Isbourne Arts here on our website. I’ll also show you behind the scenes so you get a taste of what it takes to create an arts and community hub, right on your doorstep. Join me through the year as I share the story of Isbourne Arts.
Lucy McCall
