Ashton Court Mansion to be turned into community arts venue

After concerns that Ashton Court Mansion could be plunged deeper into dereliction following Bristol City Council’s decision to stop using it as a wedding venue in December 2017, Bristol charity Artspace Lifespace have been granted use of the mansion as a public arts space and venue while talks about the future of the building continue.

From mid-May, events including family-friendly exhibitions will take place inside the Grade I-listed house, which has previously been closed to the public. Artspace Lifespace have signed a five-year lease with the council for use of the building.

“The council approached us because they wanted to open it up more and get a more diverse range of people in to experience the place,” says Doug Francisco, a trustee of Artspace Lifespace, who has been with the organisation since its more anarchic beginnings.

“We have a bit of a history of doing this sort of thing and were excited about the possibility of taking on such an iconic Bristol building. We wanted to take it on and engage people with arts and activities. It’s really positive because the commercial nature of the place isn’t what its really all about: it’s not just about Ashton Court being a hireable venue but a place for different events and people. ”

The Island, the former police station on Nelson Street, is another Artspace Lifespace project

Artspace Lifespace took on their first major project in Bristol in 2006 – creating an art space from the old Audi garage on Cheltenham Road. Once a hub of antisocial behaviour, drug taking and prostitution, by occupying the building and putting on a site-specific circus show in the space, the organisation breathed new life into the derelict building before it was sold and redeveloped into what is now Boston Tea Party.

This approach was replicated in several other derelict buildings, including Clifton’s Pro Cathedral and North Bristol Baths.

In recent years, they have taken a break from multiple projects to focus their efforts on the long-term project of transforming The Island, the site of the old Bridewell police station on Nelson Street, which is now a permanent base for the organisation. The team will celebrate a decade at The Island later this year.

“The transformation of The Island was long-term, so this is our first step out from doing that,” Doug continues. “It’s really exciting because it feels we’re ready to start looking outwards again, and this is an amazing project on an historical site.”

The Music Room in Ashton Court Mansion is one of the spaces that Artspace Lifespace will open up to the public

The first events planned for the Ashton Court Mansion focus on families, with DJ Nick Terrific and MC Rocky Patch’s Junior Jungle family rave taking place on May 12, but Doug is thinking big for the future. “With my Invisible Circus hat on, there’s all sorts of exciting site-specific stuff that we could do. There are some really interesting bits of the house that haven’t been open to the public, so it will be great to open different parts of it up. We also want to build our approach into the long-term preservation of the building.”

Artspace Lifespace will be working in conjunction with Bristol City Council and heritage organisations, who will be ploughing money into the dilapidated parts of the building, to restore it and make it safe. Conservative estimates put the costs of restoring the house at around £20m.

“It’s an amazing time capsule,” Doug says. “It’s going to be a big challenge in terms of restoration and it’s a slow process, but it’s going to be great to have the house open for the public to engage with.”

Ashton Court Mansion will be available for hire and collaborations  from June 2018. To make an enquiry, email artsmansion@artspacelifespace.com or visit www.artspacelifespace.com to find out more about forthcoming events.