The wartime hut that became St Austell Arts Centre needs help

Take a seat in the little theatre on Truro Road and you are sitting inside a piece of wartime history. The building started life as a wooden hut on an airbase, and the people who look after it now need help to keep everyone inside it safe.

A hut carried piece by piece to Truro Road

St Austell Arts Centre began in the 1950s, when volunteers dismantled a former wartime wooden hut at St Eval airbase, moved it piece by piece to Truro Road, and rebuilt it as a community theatre.

It later became the permanent home and rehearsal base of the St Austell Players, an amateur dramatic group founded in 1945. At a time when St Austell had few dedicated arts venues, the centre gave the area a space for drama, music, dance, bridge and local community events.

Today the 144-seat theatre runs as a busy community and professional venue, hosting local groups, U3A activities, bridge clubs and regular entertainment nights.

Why the fire alarm comes first

The centre needs major refurbishment, and its trustees say installing an automatic fire alarm system is the most urgent job on the list. The work is expected to cost between £16,000 and £18,000.

The trustees are looking at crowdfunding and match funding to raise the money, with the aim of protecting the safety of everyone who uses the building, from community groups to performers and audiences.

How the appeal works

A Crowdfunder appeal for the new fire alarm, set up by Penny Mergler, has a target of £18,000. At the time of writing it had reached £1,008 from 33 supporters, around 5 per cent of the way there.

It runs on a keep-what-you-raise basis, so the centre receives every pledge made before the appeal closes at 11.03am on Saturday 31 October. Donors can add Gift Aid to make their donation go further. Details of what is on at the venue are on the St Austell Arts Theatre website.

“Every contribution, however small, will be warmly welcomed,” the appeal says. Donors will also have their names recorded on a plaque inside the theatre.

📷The theatre at St Austell Arts Centre on Truro Road. Credit: St Austell Arts Centre