Community Led – Community Owned

In a world that seems increasingly disconnected, where more of us feel isolated and where community can seem in decline, the Gregson is a beacon of hope.

Our mission is for people to be in the driving seat of their community events and cultural experiences.

We believe it is critical that our community has a place to come together. Our spaces play a crucial role in our city’s cultural ecology. It is everyone’s right to create and take part in community life and culture, in all its diversity. We make that happen.

Meet Our People

a meeting place of people, ages and cultures

We are a meeting place of people, ages and cultures. We’re a place to create, to think, to drink and to dance. We’re not dedicated to one artform, and believe our community knows what is relevant to them. Our spaces are currently home to 70 regular groups and a range of cultural and community events and celebrations.

At the heart of the Gregson is Lancaster’s only community run bar and cafe. It’s a far cry from what you’d find in most cultural buildings. It is honest and warm hearted and a social hub in its own right.

Investing Back

The Gregson was built in 1889, with donations in memory of former city Mayor, Henry Gregson. For the last forty years our charity, the Gregson Community Association, has been the building’s custodians. We’ve been through a difficult time since lockdown, but local people once again saved the Gregson from closure and our charity now manages the building directly. All the income we make is invested back into the centre and the community.

Beyond our walls, our charity supports three sub-groups who work to make community life better.

Charity’s Sub Groups

Get Involved

The Gregson exists because of our community’s tenacity and strength. We have ambitious volunteers, members, trustees, and staff, but face challenges within the current climate, and after covid, we’re fragile. With your support, we can make the Gregson work.

Believe in community? Take action – get involved.

Get Involved

Our People

Fergus Ashcroft-Walsh
Finance Administrator
Fergus is a chartered accountant who, as well as taking care of the Gregson’s books, is also a musician in multiple local bands. This includes playing saxophone for Greggie favourites The Groove Cutters. He also volunteers for Lancaster Jazz Festival and Lancaster Music Co-op.
Kate Aspinwall
Trustee - Vice Chair
Kate is the Asst Director of HR at Shelter, the Housing and Homelessness Charity. After moving to Lancaster in 2021, a move which she describes as “striking gold”, she became a regular customer, and member, of the Gregson. Her family all enjoy participating in various groups and attending events and Kate took a keen interest in the development of the Gregson GCA following the pandemic. She is a saxophonist and a drummer, dabbles in art, and enjoys sport and dance. “I first discovered The Gregson during the music festival when trying to struggle up that great big hill…there was a sign offering a ‘hill break’ with awesome live music! From then, I visited frequently, always experiencing the warmth, hospitality, and generosity of our incredible community. I firmly believe that ‘being’ in a community isn’t belonging – it’s the being able to ‘do’ things that creates that bond. I’m so excited to be able to do the things I enjoy within this role and so be part of a community building opportunities to create, together.”
Emma Bainbridge
Trustee - Secretery
A proud Lancaster resident since 2021, Emma works as a Sales Administrator for a Cumbria-based consultancy. Having lived and worked abroad for several years, she understands the importance of community spaces, the arts, and the positive impact they can have on peoples’ lives for those from both nearby and further afield. “It feels increasingly rare to find spaces like The Gregson where people can learn new things, try out new ideas, and just be themselves, and yet these places are so vital for connected communities. I love the unique energy of The Gregson, and it’s so exciting to be a tiny part of that!”
Katherine Bevington
Trustee
Katherine has been involved in the Gregson in one capacity or another since it opened as a community centre in 1984. She has served on its committees in many different guises and was a frequent visitor to the bar. She has enjoyed meeting many different people and enjoys being part of a wide community. “The Gregson holds a unique place in many people’s hearts. It has always been a very safe and welcoming place for me and countless others to visit and is an asset to the community. It is like home from home.”
Marianne Blaauboer
Volunteer Manager
Marianne’s background is in heritage, and has worked for the National Trust and in industrial heritage. She also volunteers at Animal Care and Lancaster Civic Vision, and is a correspondent on Dutch national radio discussing the quirks of UK life. Marianne has lived in the UK since 2005, and Lancaster since 2013.

“On my second day, meeting some participants of Brew & Banter, I was touched by someone quietly stating “I’ve come to the right place.” That’s how I feel, and I hope you do too.”
Bex Carradus
Bar Manager
Rebecca or ‘Bex’ as she’s fondly known by her regulars has worked in hospitality in Lancaster for over 20 years across a range of pubs in the city. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know the community that use the Gregson centre better and welcoming new people in. I enjoy working as part of the community and the Gregson being the hub of that.”
Guy Christiansen
Chair of the Board
Guy is the CEO of award winning young people’s charity Lancashire Youth Challenge and spent most of his career working within the creative arts and theatre sector holding senior management and leadership roles at theatre companies and venues across the North West.

“I am thrilled and honoured to be Chair of the Gregson Community and Arts Centre. I have spent my adult life engaged in community arts and youth work practice and believe the Gregson is an intrinsically important component of Lancaster’s cultural and creative ecology.”
Matt Deighton
Trustee
Matt is a teaching assistant in Lancaster. He’s previously worked in a variety of sectors including, retail, hospitality and even as a jailor! “The Gregson, to me, is an important, safe place for people to come together and be themselves, a heartbeat to the local community, it is so much more than a pile of bricks. It can be whatever we want it to be and so much more.”
Heike Horsburgh MBE
Trustee
Heike has more than 30 years’ experience in third sector and charitable services and her work for young people and local communities has earned her an MBE and an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Cumbria. As an NHS non-executive director, charity trustee, youth and community worker and CEO in some of the most disadvantaged areas in the UK, Heike has led on grassroots responses delivering social change. She has influenced national and regional health and youth work policy and formed partnership collaborations delivering whole county youth services. Heike is trained in youth and community work with two additional masters in HR and International Development. Heike works across the NHS, Public and Charity sectors, supporting business modelling, impact evaluations and participatory plans for community challenges such as inequalities and social exclusion.
Cen Kaighin
Trustee - Treasurer
Cen has been part of the Gregson community for 35 years! In this time he has taught martial arts at the Gregson, played music and for 30 years has been a member of the Gregson Cricket Club (for the last 12 he has been the club’s treasurer).

Cen has worked in public service for the last 25 years. He has just retired as a senior manager in a government organisation (Natural England) in which he was responsible for 80 staff, a budget of over £10,000,000 and contributed to policy making and decisions on service delivery. During Cen’s successful career he also worked at Lancaster University and set up a workers co-op to run a cafe. Cen is no stranger to governance having been a governor at Central Lancaster High School for 5 years. Cen is very keen to contribute to the continual development of the Gregson charity now he has more time in retirement.
Kyle McKenzie
Trustee - Safeguarding Lead
Kyle works as an events producer, and primarily a Production Executive for local youth charity Escape2Make. He has a creative background, and is excited to engage regularly with so many talented local artists. He also cares enormously about providing memorable and rewarding experiences for young people.

“I have lived in Lancaster for eight years and have fallen in love with the city and the local community. In my free time, I enjoy performing as a part of an improv group and running murder mystery events around the country”
Jamie Murphy
Trustee
Jamie is a qualified Youth and Community Worker with over 20 years experience specialising in working with ‘difficult to reach’ communities including young people experiencing homelessness and care experienced young people. Jamie works for Lancaster City Council as part of the Community Connectors Team and is the Chair of Food Futures, North Lancashire’s Sustainable Food Network. “I’ve been involved with the Gregson since the 90s. I worked as the Bar Manager, curated Lancaster Clocks Back festival and sat on the ‘board’ as the Arts events officer. I’m interested in all the arts but most specifically music. I play traditional Irish folk and have curated the Gregson’s offer to Lancaster Music Festival for the past two years. I’ve also enjoyed fundraising for the Gregson including leading on the Crowdfunding campaign during lockdown.”
David Reid
Operations Manager
David moved up to Lancaster in 2021, in part because of the strong sense of community that it has. Before becoming our Operations Manager, David was the Facilities Co-ordinator at St. John’s Hospice for 5 years. He also worked for the YMCA for 15 years managing Health Clubs to deliver their community health agenda.

“The Gregson was our local and gave such a sense of inclusion and community. Being a part of this fantastic charity and having the chance to make a visible positive difference to our community is everything.”
Dave Shooter
Trustee
Dave Shooter has lived just up the hill from the Gregson for almost 20 years.

Dave runs Lancaster Jazz Festival and Hymns for Robots and is an active musician and educator working on a wide variety of evolving and developing projects.

Dave brings a diverse set of creative and leadership skills as well as a passion for what the Gregson does and a desire to see it continue to evolve. Dave is passionate about environmental sustainability and takes a lead on this with Lancaster and District Arts Partners.
Charles Tyrer
CEO
Charles has been under the spell of Margaret Mead’s quote:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has

since he discovered it on a postcard in Leeds Art Gallery as a a teenager.

Before taking the helm as the charity’s first CEO, Charles was the Executive Director at arts Charity Settle Stories which he developed into an NPO Arts Council organisation over 10 years.

As a firm believer in community life, Charles has been a Youth Worker, Town Councillor and Trustee at the Dukes Theatre. “I’ve never been involved in an organisation loved so strongly by so many different people and for such wonderfully different reasons. I’m committed to developing relationships with our existing community and welcoming new people in so they realise how brilliant this community and place is. The more people we welcome in, the more relevant we will be.”
Archie Verhoest
Community Marketing Officer
Archie is a recent graduate of Lancaster University, where he gained a First-Class degree in Theatre. Having grown up in a small rural Worcestershire town, Archie understands the importance of grassroots community arts, which is what initially drew him to the Gregson centre. After joining the charity through a University internship scheme, Archie now proudly works at the centre permanently. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a space where so many people who, on paper, should have absolutely nothing to say to each other, can find so much commonality and joy. It’s absolutely fantastic.”