Cushendun Old Church Centre: regenerating community through arts and heritage

Nestled in the Glens of Antrim, up a tree-lined lane, sits an old church that has been in that exact spot since 1840. You’ve probably driven past if you’ve ever taken the coastal route to the Giant’s Causeway. And you may not have known you were passing a heritage, arts and community centre that has become the focal point for the Glens.

When the building was deconsecrated by the Church of Ireland in 2003, it lay vacant for a few years before the Cushendun Building Preservation Trust (CBPT) formed in 2006 with an ambitious goal: to preserve the lovely old building and give it a new lease of life as a multi-purpose space for the community.

“I was aware that the building was falling into disuse because my family had been members of the congregation. So, I and a few other people in the community concocted a scheme, and it really got off the ground in 2006,” says Katy English, an artist and founding member of the Trust.

“I went to see Heritage Lottery Fund and I said I’ve had this great idea, can you give us some money? I thought it would be that straightforward, that they would see our vision there and then and write the cheque, but of course there was a lot of work needed to be done. They said, the first thing you need to do is set up a building preservation trust. So that was step one and they were really supportive through the whole process.”

Practicing Patience

Despite featuring on BBC TV show ‘Restoration’, hosted by Griff Rhys Jones, in 2006 and gaining widespread attention as regional winner, turning the church into an arts centre did not happen overnight. The building came with certain restrictions because it’s a former church, and negotiating a lease took years of back and forth.

When the group finally signed the lease in 2013, renovations could begin. “I remember going down for a site visit, the scaffolding was all over the place, there was machinery everywhere. The yard looked like a bomb had gone off. I remember standing there thinking, ‘what on earth have I got myself into?’” says William Colvin, Chair of the CBPT.

Funding for regional arts events through the Derry City of Culture project allowed the Church to host their inaugural Big Arts Weekend in 2013. It was the first time they could give the members of their community a sneak peek into what was happening at the old church and what they were trying to achieve.

“That was the first time we’d been able to do anything public facing that got people involved, it built up a bit of an audience and a head of steam for the project,” says Katy.

The Old Church Centre opened to the public in 2019, thanks to National Lottery Heritage Funding and a whole lot of effort from everyone involved.

An open door for the community

Since then, the 90 person capacity venue has been host to a range of renowned speakers and performers: Brian Kennedy, Bernadette McAliskey, the Ulster Orchestra. Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers played an intimate gig and is keen to return. The stars of the Oscar-winning film An Irish Goodbye did a special screening and Q&A in the venue as part of their homecoming tour.

But beyond that, the Old Church Centre has hosted weddings, funeral teas, monthly get-togethers for older people, arts workshops for kids. It is upholding the legacy of a rural church: a place for the community to come together, a place beyond the pub where people can talk, sing, break bread and spark ideas. And despite its denominational past, these days the Old Church is for everyone.

Like many community spaces, the Old Church Centre is not strictly one thing or another. It is an information and heritage centre where visitors can learn more about the Glens of Antrim as well as being an arts and culture venue. The Trust pride themselves on being reactive to the needs of those on their doorstep: a catchment area of around 1,000, a mostly farming community, but there’s also a strong arts community in the Glens, with artists flocking to the area for generations because of its natural beauty.

Visitors make the journey as well, from the holidaymakers who flock to the Causeway Coast in caravans every summer to those who travel from nearby towns for the interesting events the Centre is programming.

“We’re bringing the arts, the culture and the heritage to here. And people are coming to us from Portstewart, from Derry, from Fermanagh, from all over,” says Jude McNeill, Deputy Chair of CBPT.

The Old Church Centre has given the community something that simply wasn’t there before. Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart is over 30 miles away. The Courthouse in Bushmills, a heritage building with a focus on arts and crafts, is a 40 minute drive away. The people of Cushendun now get to experience arts and culture on their doorstep in the Glens.

And while there’s a success story here: a group of community-focused volunteers get together to save an old building from dilapidation, and in doing so create a community hub in their village, the Trust doesn’t see it as a happy ending.

Like much of the sector, they’re in a precarious position, relying on project funding each year. They have one paid staff member, who’s on a temporary contract. The core members of the Trust are putting countless volunteer hours in to make sure the doors stay open.

As a rural venue, they also have unique challenges. There’s no public transport at all in the area on Sundays. With an older population in the area, they have a huge focus on addressing loneliness and isolation. They’re always thinking about footfall, how to get people in the door and introduce them to new ideas, let them know this space is for everyone, let them know that they can’t take it for granted, because it might not always be there if they do.

We got to know the Old Church Centre team because they were thinking about audience development. They reached out to book a Free Advice Session with our CEO, Fiona. Fiona shared their impressive backstory with the thrive team. When we met them to chat about their story in order to write this case study, we recommended they join IMPACT, our research project into audience attendance. They’re now collecting audience data through surveys, proving their commitment to knowing their audience and growing their community.

What’s next for the Old Church Centre?

They’ve recently launched a membership scheme, whereby if you donate £3 (or more) per month you will become a Member of Cushendun Building Preservation Trust, the charity which operates the Old Church Centre. This means you will be invited to attend their Annual General Meeting and to decide on the composition of the Board, if you wish to do so.

They’re keen to try to bring young people in, try to ensure the next generation has a stake in the future of the building. They want to get to a point where the Centre has more long-term sustainability, where it’s less reliant on the tireless work of a small group of people who 20 years ago, had a big idea for their small village.

Despite the old church turning 185 this year, the Old Church Centre is only getting started.

What advice would the group give to anyone with a dream of turning a disused building into a thriving community hub?

• Be prepared for a long journey.
• Persevere through the boring, the technical, the legal.
• Keep your end goal in mind.
• Relish an opportunity to bring new people into the team, because everyone has their own ideas and perspective.
• You need community buy-in and to respond to need.
• Make sure your offer is for your community. And your community might not be geographic, they might not be on your doorstep, they might be further afield but share a niche interest.
• Be reactive, learn from your mistakes and learn from your community.

You can find out more about the Old Church Centre by visiting their website or Facebook page.