How do you use a large piece of left-over Victorian industrial architecture in the 21st century? The question vexed people’s minds in the town for nearly 20 years. The Goods Shed, having lost its last business tenant years before, was in a parlous state with its windows boarded up, the roof leaking, and ivy and rainwater penetrating the walls.

There were feasibility studies, surveys, proposals, counterproposals. It seemed to be as difficult to find a future for the Shed as it had been to attract the GWR a century earlier.

Over the years the plans for the refurbished goods shed have included badminton courts, a community centre, a cinema, a youth theatre, craft workshops, a cafe and eventually an arts centre.

Then, in 2011, the Goods Shed’s continuing deterioration literally became a burning issue when a fire severely damaged the south end windows and roof.

By 2008 when this photo was taken the land to the north and south of the Goods Shed had been landscaped into a park, picnic area and car park. But the outlook for building itself remained as uncertain as ever

Although few people realised it at the time, the 2011 fire proved to be the turning point for the Shed. Rather than just making good the damaged section, Tetbury Town Council took the opportunity to completely weatherproof its exterior.

With new office doors and windows and a fresh paint job, the Goods Shed was able for the first time in 50 years to show off its potential.

In September 2013, the Trust and the town council opened the Shed’s doors to the public for National Heritage Open Day. The Trust showed visitors its proposed plan for the Shed and invited them to consider joining up. By this time, a quantity surveyor had costed the necessary building work at £489,000. The Trust’s accounts for 2012 showed an income of £0.

Undaunted, several new faces showed up at the next monthly meeting. Three of the newcomers volunteered to put on ‘Pamper Evening’ and the revived Goods Shed Project was off and running.

With hindsight, the Trust’s most valuable move was to open up the Shed for events as it stood.

Energised by people’s reactions to the building’s clear potential and the generous response to their fundraising and planning activities, the Goods Shed group mounted dozens of events in 2014 and 2015, from concerts to car boot sales.

Trust members and supporters on the cover of a fundraising calendar produced with support from local organisations and businesses in 2015

Phase 1 of the project, in 2016, comprised the main structural work on the Shed, needed to create the ‘shell’ in which the Trust installed the Arts Centre equipment and facilities.

The cost of this phase was over £600,000, more than half of which was met by Tetbury Town Council from public works funding and ‘Section 106’ monies from housing developments in Tetbury.

Between December 2013 and December 2016, the Trust raised over £200,000 in sponsorship, grant awards and direct income from fundraising events. Around half the total was given by charitable trusts, which responded to the project with great enthusiasm.

The reaction from people and businesses in the area has also been fabulous. They sponsored our events and appeals, named seats and bricks and showed a level of confidence in the project that was truly inspiring.

It meant that the Trust and TTC were able to complete Phase One, refurbishing and extending the shed’s structure, in 2016.

Tidying up in the freshly-converted main hall just before the official reopening in December 2016

One hundred and twenty-seven years after it opened for business and 20 years after it was almost lost to the town forever, Tetbury’s sturdy GWR Goods Shed embarked on a completely new role within the community it previously served for three-quarters of a century.

HRH Prince Charles officially inaugurated the restored building on 22 December 2016, culminating three years of strenuous activity by TTC, TRLRT and the Shed’s many friends and supporters.

Prince Charles congratulates fundraisers and supporters at the opening (Image by Hyde-Media.co.uk)

In the next phases of the Shed’s new existence the Trust installed state-of-the-art seating, cinema projection and sound installations, a high-quality catering kitchen, and space for classes and workshops in a preserved Finland Railways carriage sited behind the building.

Getting here had been a very long story. And was really only just the beginning!