Arts / St Georges
St George’s to mix the old with the new
The small metal tail fin of an incendiary bomb from the Second World War sits on a table at St George’s, only a few metres from where it crashed through the ceiling of the former church during the Bristol Blitz of 1941.
Fortunately, it failed to ignite but the exact spot in which it hit the former church has since then been marked with a star in the ceiling.
St George’s is currently a building site, but when the dust clears it will reopen with a gleaming new glass extension to one side; and in the crypt below the tail fin will form part of a new heritage interpretation space sharing stories of the venue’s history.
An artist’s impression of the heritage space in the crypt
Leading a small group on a hard hat tour on Monday morning, St George’s chief executive Suzanne Rolt revealed that £6.3m has now been secured for the rebuilding works from major funders such as Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, as well as individual donors.
“This is an exciting moment in our ambitious Building a Sound Future project, with changes happening on all fronts,” Rolt said.
“The extension is emerging alongside the existing hall, major repairs to our historic front stone steps are nearly complete and dramatic changes are taking shape throughout the crypt.”
The new extension is being built by Midas Construction
The new two-storey extension will house a cafe and bar featuring a sculpture by artist Luke Jerram, event spaces for hire, and improved access for people with disabilities.
It will be connected to the main hall by a series of glass walkways, and will open for the first time in February 2018.
An artist’s impression of inside the new extension – featuring the sculpture Apollo by Luke Jerram
Read more: Review: Chineke! Orchestra, St George’s
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
