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.
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 50 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.
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. Friends of Miss Whalley’s Field maintain the ‘Gregson’s Garden’, a once disused site which has been transformed into a wonderful urban green space. The Gregson Festival Group deliver community events including an annual firework display and bonfire. And The Highfield Recreation Ground, where local people restored a mainly derelict sports facility to provide an essential outdoor community space.
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.
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Our People
Fergus Ashcroft-Walsh - Finance Administrator
Kate Aspinwall - Trustee
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."
Katherine Bevington - Trustee & Secretary
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."
Jack Boynton - Young Promoter
Jack is a musician and frontman of local band @hummustheband. Jack spends a lot of his time volunteering at arts charity More Music, where he attempts to teach teenagers to play rock music and runs a choir for people over 60. Naturally, he loves music in all its forms, especially Math-metal and Nu-metal. “I'm going to be putting on a series of gigs experimenting with different formats for shows, to see if I can come up with any innovative ways to use the space at the Gregson Centre. I'll be using the pseudonym "BaccyJ" as a promoter, so any event posters with that tag on are by yours truly. I'd love to have a chat if you have any suggestions for gigs, or if you'd like to get involved and play - you can contact me at j.boynton@gregson.co.uk”
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.”
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.”
Helen Jackson - Trustee & Treasurer
Helen was the CEO of Lancashire-based Horse + Bamboo Theatre Company, and served on arts partnerships and was a Board member of the Independent Theatre Council and of PANDA (the performing artists network development agency). “I love the spirit of the Gregson: keeping the best of established practice whilst also open to the new, however challenging. The arts is where we conceive the impossible: fun, breath-taking, inspiring, risky. Always important for communities, in dark times even more so. The energy I once put into political activity is now all community focused: it’s where change happens.”
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.”
Anya Ramamurthy - Trustee
Anya is a Lancaster University student and musician. Passionate about addressing climate change, Anya is currently involved with Lancaster Youth for Environment and a member of the UK Student Climate Network and the FWCC - Young Friends World Wide for Climate Action, Peace and Justice. Anya is a talented Recorder player and also plays the clarinet and sings in the Lancaster University Music Society ensembles and Choir. “I believe the Gregson offers a unique space for all members of the community, across ages and backgrounds, to meet, take part in events, explore something new or continue an old passion. It is a welcoming space with huge value for the community. The arts have the power to offer joy, to make change, and to bring people together whilst breaking down divisions and differences. The Gregson does just this.”
Emma Rucastle - Trustee
Emma is a Lancaster based creative practitioner/artist. Passionate about inclusive theatre, she has recently worked on projects/performances with young offenders, the GRT community, the homeless, care home residents, SEND settings and more. Emma is the Lead Maker of Lancaster Fun Palace, a community celebration of Arts and Sciences housed in Lancaster Library and other venues, including The Gregson. “I’ve felt connected to The Gregson for many years, attending a wide range of events at the centre. I’m strongly aligned to The Gregson’s values, believing wholeheartedly in community and the Arts and their transformational power.”
Lisa Shrimpton - Volunteer Coordinator
Lisa is our Volunteer Co-ordinator, supporting our large band of loyal volunteers and encouraging new people to get involved. Lisa started out in community theatre and subsequently spent more than 30 years working in the Voluntary & Community Sector in a wide range of national and local organisations (most recently Lancaster & District CVS.) “I love being part of the Gregson’s continued journey, reaching further out into the community to engage and encourage people to participate in the ways that suit them. It’s all about community connections and involvement; it makes the world go round.”
Joe Sumsion - Chair of Trustees
Joe teaches on the Acting degree at the University of Central Lancashire, following many years working as a theatre maker. Between 2001 and 2017 Joe worked as Artistic Director/CEO of Action Transport, a young people’s theatre company in Ellesmere Port, then The Dukes in Lancaster. He has been a trustee of a number of charities and was the founding chair of the Lancaster Arts Partnership and also Arts Lancashire. “I always knew the Gregson was special, but since joining the board I’ve been privileged to see the really wonderful effect creativity and participation is having on this community. It’s very exciting to be a part of.”
Charles Tyrer - CEO
Charles is committed to the Gregson’s mission to put local people in the driving seat of their community events and cultural experiences. Over 10 years, Charles developed arts charity Settle Stories into an NPO Arts Council funded organisation. A firm believer in community life, he 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 splits his time between the Gregson’s office and bar. “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.”