Drapers Hall to become Coventry music centre

Drapers Hall to become Coventry music centre

Postby dutchman » Thu Sep 20, 2012 4:36 pm

Plans have been revealed to turn a historic hall in Coventry, which was once used as an air raid shelter, into a music centre for the city.

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Drapers Hall, in Bayley Street, was built in 1832 and has also been used as a magistrates' court and church centre.

The Higgs Trust charity said it was working in partnership with Coventry University and Coventry City Council to modernise the grade II listed building.

It will have practice rooms, recording studios and a sheet music library.

As part of the plans, the council's performing arts service would move to Drapers Hall from its current headquarters at Chace Studio Centre in Willenhall.

'A few million'

Peter Knatchbull-Huggeson, clerk for the Higgs Trust, said: "One of the things about music in schools at the moment is that budgets are being cut.

"It's becoming more difficult for children to get access to music and instruments and we want to ensure in Coventry that doesn't happen."

The charity said it would know the full cost of the project once it had done a feasibility study but said it would be "a few million pounds".

The basement at Drapers Hall was used as an air raid shelter for 200 people during World War II.

It is currently owned by Coventry City Council.

:bbc_news:
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Re: Drapers Hall to become Coventry music centre

Postby dutchman » Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:02 pm

First glimpse of how Coventry's derelict Drapers Hall could look

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The first artist's impression of how Coventry’s historic Drapers Hall will look following its multi-million pound restoration has been unveiled.

The empty city centre building is set to be transformed into a music centre with work due to start next summer.

The Drapers Hall Trust - run by the Alan Edward Higgs Charity alongside Music Coventry - has spent months planning the restoration of the derelict building in Bayley Lane, in the city centre.

The plans include restoring the suite of social rooms to their former glory and adding an extension to the building to house a range of new modern facilities.

The three-storey extension to the rear of the historic building will include performance areas, music rehearsal rooms, offices, a small shop area and an instrument library.

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Re: Drapers Hall to become Coventry music centre

Postby rebbonk » Fri Sep 05, 2014 5:06 pm

Not sure I like the design, but bringing the unit back into use is a step in the right direction.
Of course it'll fit; you just need a bigger hammer.
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Historic Drapers' Hall to be restored as music venue in Coventry

Postby dutchman » Wed Mar 28, 2018 3:50 pm

The restoration of one of Coventry’s most important historic buildings will convert it to a music venue

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Historic Coventry Trust is undertaking an ambitious project to restore and open the Grade II* ListedRegency-style Drapers’ Hall in Bayley Lane, in the city’s Cathedral Quarter, as a music performance and education venue.

The Trust has been awarded £1 million by Arts Council England to progress the project with the support of The Prince’s Foundation.

The aim is to restore the historic building and its magnificent interiors to their former glory and to adapt the building for professional classical music performance and music education facilities for young people.

The Prince’s Foundation will project manage the sensitive restoration and provide specialist architectural design services.

The plan is for the venue to be opened in 2020, in time for the city’s tenure as UK City of Culture the following year and comes just days after it was revealed that the Trust’s Charterhouse project has received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Drapers’ Hall was built in the classical style in 1832, on the site of earlier halls owned by the important Company of Drapers.

The association of the Drapers with this area of Coventry goes back to Coventry’s late medieval heyday when it was the fourth largest city in the country, its wealth based on the production of highly-prized wool and woollen cloth.

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It's the same plan that was announced by the Higgs Trust five years ago! :clown:
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