Red Brick Building

It’s a beautiful building and it has so much potential.
[Miki, campaigner]

We didn’t really know what was going to happen. You know it’s so easy to say oh just knock it down, but it has found another role which is really good. I’m really pleased about that.
[Wendy M, Morlands]

We are very pleased with the outcome and hope we can all work together now and use our creative energies to find a use for the building.
[Rory, campaigner]

Sign from the occupation campaign
Sign from the occupation campaign

Alan Gloak, who was part of Glastonbury Town Council, gave the then boss of SWRDA a quid and we got the building. There was a grand plan and the idea was that, because it’s a massive building, it would be broken in two. Buildings A and B were the buildings which were less bad. Building C was the albatross.
[Robin Howell, builder and craftsman]

Mid Somerset News,
8th January 2000
Mid Somerset News, 8th January 2009

In the meantime, I’d set up the scrap metal scheme as a widow’s mite method of raising a bit of money from people who hadn’t got £100 for the community share. If you could bring us something rusty from your garden, that would do just as well and would be your contribution.
[Robin Howell, builder and craftsman]

While the place was still half a building site, we put together the Arts Group, contacted all the local movers and shakers in the creative field that we thought might be interested and got that together.
[Tim Knock]

Renovation of the building was mostly done by volunteers.
Photo: Red Brick Building
Renovation of the building was mostly done by volunteers.
Photo: Red Brick Building

My intention was just to help create something which served the whole community – Glastonbury, Street. I think that one of the things that holds the area together is a kind of unorthodox, ethical approach grounded in strong values.
[Tim Knock]