Arts & Cultural Policy for Peninsula

What currently exists

Art activities and groups:

Some professional artists – mainly figurative and literal, selling in small gallery shops around town or in a shared pop up shop or on the Old Fish Quay Saturday Arts & Craft Market stalls during the summer months but this is not a year round site.

Driftwood art– designer Karen Miller, has a base and shop in the town and Gail Trezise, a Brixham artist, has a studio at nearby Cockington Court.

There is little contemporary art design in Brixham and surrounding areas.

Devon-based artist Kate Green was commissioned to create „My Brixham‟, a light box art project, designed to promote the town's new Fish Quay in August 2010. Sited on the main south westerly wall of the new employment building, next to the South West Coast Path., it is a multi-layered artwork, demonstrating what Brixham means to the people who live and work there. Sadly, it is not always lit up nowadays.

Gallery and exhibition display space is virtually non-existent, other than in small shops and galleries.

There are several photographers living and working in Brixham and Churston, creating primarily land, town and seascapes aimed at selling to tourists. There are also a few pet photography specialists.

Brixham Society of Art is primarily amateur artists, who hold an exhibition for a week in the summer, in the Scala Hall, Brixham Town Hall.

There are several amateur choirs – Quay Harmony, the Riveria Singers, Brixham Orpheus Male Voice Choir.

Local bands – Brixham Town Band, Brixham College Band

Local amateur theatre groups – BOADS – Brixham Operatic and Dramatic Society and South Devon Players.

Youth performance groups – Brixham Dance Project, Dramatically Different and Project Performers.

Heritage assets:

Heritage fleet of old trawlers and sail training ships.

Shoalstone Open-air Pool (now being re-branded as Shoalstone Lido) – swimming pool amongst the rocks.

Battery Gardens has a military history leading back to the Napoleonic wars and the time of the Spanish Armada, with a gun platform from 1586. The emplacements and features seen here today as Brixham Battery are those of the Second World War and are of national importance. The site, listed by English Heritage, is recognised as one of the best preserved of its kind in the UK. Of the 116 'Emergency Coastal Defence Batteries' set up in the UK in 1940, only seven remain intact. There is a small museum, operated by volunteers, running activities focussed on the Second World War.

The D Day Landing Slip - a ramp and piers were built in the lee of the existing breakwater in 1943, giving a four-berth Landing Ship Tank (LST) slipway and embarkation hard from which American servicemen left for the D-day landings during the Second World War. It is now a listed site.

Berry Head –. The headland known as Berry Head is now a national nature reserve, but it is also a military site where guns were once positioned to defend the naval ships that were re-victualling at Brixham. Twelve guns were put there during the War of American Independence, but were removed when peace came in 1783. Just ten years later, during a war with France, guns were again deployed around the town. The major position was at Berry Head, but this time fortifications were built to defend the gun positions. These can still be seen, and are now some of the best preserved Napoleonic forts in the country.

Statues:

William, Prince of Orange, on the harbour side at the Strand.

A stone monument of a base, cross and anchor, c1866 in Drew St - to sailors who died in the great shipwreck of 11 January 1866.

In development - „Man & Boy‟ statue to commemorate fishermen lost at sea – again very literal and figurative

Listed historic churches:

St Mary the Virgin Church, Churston Ferrers. It was built alongside the manor house, originally as a private chapel for the Ferrers family. It was handed to the parish in 1490.

St Mary the Virgin, a 15 century church in Drew St, Higher Brixham, is the oldest one in Brixham. It is the third church to have been built on the site (which was an ancient Celtic burial ground). The original wooden Saxon church was replaced by a stone Norman church, which was, in its turn, built over in about 1360. Many of the important townspeople are buried in the churchyard

All Saints Church, Church St in the Town Centre, where Reverend Lyte was Vicar, composer of „Abide With Me‟, founded in 1815.

The Wesleyan Methodist Church in Fore Street was built in 1816, and Reverend Lyte‟s wife, a staunch Methodist, worshipped there.

The United Reformed Church in Bolton Street, a Congregational Chapel. 1843-5, restored and altered 1872 and 1908, with schoolrooms added as a mid/late C19 extension.

The Brixham Baptist Church, Middle St, was built in 1895.

The built heritage in the town:

The town itself – multi-coloured painted cottages tumbling down the hillsides in the town centre.

There are a considerable number of Grade II listed buildings in Brixham, mostly fishermen‟s cottages around the town centre and farmhouses, manors and cottages near St Mary‟s Church in Higher Brixham. There are also many listed public houses in the centre of the town.

Most famous to visiting tourists is Ye Olde Coffin House (formerly Listed as Temperance Place Coffin House). A house with shop that is a unique Grade II listed building and, as the name suggests, shaped like a coffin.

Probably dating to the early 19th-century and remodelled in the early 20th century, it was supposedly built after a father told his daughter that he would see her in her coffin before she wed. The couple built a house in the shape of a coffin, and met her father's wishes. However, this appears to be nothing more than a nice legend.

Friars Pardon, Black House and Black Friars House – all names for a listed building in Milton St, Higher Brixham - built in the fourteenth century for the use of monks during the building of the nearby St Mary‟s Church. Supposedly haunted by Squire Hilliard, 16th century gentleman whose son hung himself when his father forbid his marriage to a local girl.

The Berry Head Hotel – originally completed in 1809 for use as a hospital if Napoleon invaded. In 1834, the Reverend Henry Francis Lyte made it his home, laying out its 41 acre grounds in a series of rock walks, much of which remains today. It was a combination of the peace of this beautiful house, its grounds and superb views across Torbay that inspired this famous poet and hymn-writer, in 1847, the year of his death, to write the famous hymn „Abide With Me‟. It is now a hotel.

At the entrance to Brixham, at the junction of Monksbridge Road and New Road, there is a listed former toll house, dating from about 1838.

The British Seaman‟s Boys' Home was founded in 1863 by William Gibbs of Tyntesfield for the orphan sons of deceased British seamen. It was closed in 198, after 125 years. Today it is used as a Youth Activity Centre.

Wolborough House overlooks the marina. A large and imposing house from around 1910, in an eclectic style, as a mixture of Arts and Crafts and French Baroque, in rusticated local grey limestone with highly decorative moulded and painted cornices. Known to some locally as „the „Edward Scissorhands‟ house, the Gateway entrance is also heritage listed.

Churston Court Inn is a historical 12th century coaching inn in Churston near Brixham. A Grade II* listed building, it is located next to the old church and farm and retains its original staircases, stone windows, and oak panelling and flagstone floors

Lupton House, Churston –a Grade II* listed building set in beautiful parkland. The House has a long and interesting history with the first records dating back to the Doomsday survey of 1086.

Since the Upton family settled on the estate in 1480, through to American forces using the house and grounds in the Second World War, Lupton House has formed an intrinsic part of Brixham‟s heritage.

There are also „contemporary‟ buildings preserved and Grade II listed in Brixham as well, notably Melville Aubin-designed „Sunpark‟, a 1930s art deco property, and Parkham Wood House, Parkham Road, built in 1960 by architect Mervyn Seal, with a „butterfly‟ roof design.

Modern architecture from the 1970‟s architect, Mervyn Seale, is a feature of the Berry Head area, as well in surrounding Torbay and , where he built his own home, Kaywana Hall..

Contemporary architecture is created in Brixham today by Stan Bolt, an award winning architect, based in Brixham. Notable amongst his designs is Berry Head Rocks, recently featured on television as an example of leading marine architecture, the remodelling of Kaywana Hall in Kingswear and his own house, recently constructed overlooking Fore Street, Brixham.

Industrial heritage:

Much of the industrial heritage of Brixham is preserved in the Brixham Heritage Museum, New Road, Brixham, in small artefacts.

During the Napoleonic Wars the need for increased quantities of flour saw the construction, around 1810, of the windmill on Warborough Common, at Galmpton, for grinding grain from local farms. It is now derelict.

Apart from fishing, most of the other local industries were connected with stone. Limestone was once quarried and used to build the breakwater, for houses and roads, and was sent to Dagenham to make steel for Ford automobiles. It was also burnt in limekilns to reduce it to a powder which was spread on the land in other parts of Devon as an agricultural fertiliser. The old quarries and the limekilns can still be seen around the town.

A pair of Grade II listed lime kilns, probably late C18 or early C19, as well as the base of an old windmill, dated 1797, are on Windmill Hill Brixham.

Several lime kiln remains can be found in woods around the town and between Brixham and Churston. There are quarries remaining in Churston Woods, Berry Head and around Brixham Town centre, notably, Wren Hill, Parkham Woods and along New Road.

Another mineral found in Brixham is ochre. This gave the old fishing boats their "Red Sails in the Sunset", but the purpose was to protect the canvas from sea water. It was boiled in great caldrons, together with tar, tallow and oak bark. The latter ingredient gave its name to the barking yards which were places where the hot mixture was painted on to the sails, which were then hung up to dry.

Two unique Grade II listed ochre kilns, Blackball Lane, Brixham, are preserved as the remains of the old paint factory. The ochre was also used in the development of the first rust-preventing paint in the world. This was invented in Brixham in about 1845 and was the first substance in the world that would stop cast iron from rusting. Other types of paint were made here as well, and the works were in existence until 1961.

There were iron mines at Brixham, and for a while they produced high quality ore but the last one closed in 1925. Most of the sites have been built over and there are now no remains of this once important industry.

Brixham Caves (also known as Brixham Caverns) - There are two important caves in Brixham.

 Ash Hole Cavern, between the town and Berry Head, was explored in part by Rev. Henry Lyte in 1840 and later by William Pengelly. In the 1890s this was described as being opposite the Naval Reserve Battery on Berry Head Road. It can now be seen on the landward side of the road behind a small coppice. A large open cavern, about 30 yards in length, about 7 yards in breadth; and the same in height, with a large entrance in the centre. Several human skeletons were discovered here, together with some sling-stones, bits of brass and ivory, and pottery.

 Windmill Hill Cavern, Brixham Cavern or Philp‟s Cave - Mr John Lone Philp discovered the fissure in the process of excavations for a row of houses in 1858 and it was later excavated by a committee set up jointly between the Royal and Geological Societies. Fossils and flints were revealed and four levels were found; man's flint implements lying with the remains of mammoths, rhinoceros and cave lion in the third level. It opened as a very popular show cave with locals and visitors alike but closed in 1977. It is privately owned and there was talk of it re-opening as a visitor attraction but that is unlikely in the foreseeable future. The entrance archway can be seen leading under a house on Mount Pleasant Road, Brixham.

 There was a third cavern, the Bench Bone Cavern in the quarry at Freshwater. This was later destroyed during quarrying. The Quarry at Berry Head also features smaller cave systems, largely inaccessible except to caving teams, such as Corbridge Cave.

There is an exhibition in Brixham Museum designed to “reinstate” the importance of the caverns, explaining the circumstances of how each cavern was discovered, explored and how the fossil discoveries made in them contributed to our knowledge of extinct prehistoric animals that once roamed Brixham during the last ice age.

Many of the caves are roosts for protected bat species so remain inaccessible except at certain times of year.

Brixham was served by the short Torbay and Brixham Railway from Churston. The line, opened in February 1868 to carry passengers and goods (mainly fish), was closed in May 1963 as a result of the Beeching Axe cuts. Although the former line to Brixham is deserted and overgrown, the branch line through nearby Churston is now maintained and operated as a heritage railway by a team of volunteers as the and Dartmouth Steam Railway.

Commercial activities loosely defined as ‘heritage’:

The Golden Hind – a replica ship moored permanently in Brixham Harbour.

The Smugglers Story – a 3D show and interactive exhibition, open year round and advertised as an „all weather‟ attraction. Planning permission is currently being sought to convert it to a restaurant however.

A new venture recreating the past heritage of the old fish market on the Quay is being revived, with a regular open-air public fish market being held there for the first time since the 1960s, in a bid to increase footfall in the town. Fish Market Day is held on Tuesdays in the summer months only.

The Old Fish Quay is also regarded as a natural active working area, with fishermen mending nets there and painting and doing boat repairs. Repairs to the heritage fleet are also held under the canopy, attracting interest from tourists.

There is currently a fleet of six heritage sailing trawlers in Brixham Harbour. The “Golden Vanity”, “Leader”, “Pilgrim”, “Provident” and the “Vigilance”. They are berthed on the Brixham Town Pontoon and local craftsmen and women are often to be seen working on them. Display boards giving the history of the boats are on show and several run tourist sailing trips around the bay.

Sail training ships also visit Brixham and training companies are based in the town.

Celebrating heritage festivals:

Festival of the Sea – a church based celebration, with an emphasis on the historical venue of All Saints Church, Brixham, a display of old photographs of Brixham, the church decorated with maritime memorabilia, staging choirs or concerts celebrating the sea or fishing.

BrixFest – a free three day celebration of Brixham, run over the Whitsun Bank Holiday and originally grown from the demise of Brixham Heritage Festival. The focus is around the Quay and local pubs, with lots of music, family celebration activities on a specific day and a large fireworks display.

Trawler Race – It used to be aimed at families, with a fun day held on the Fish Quay, now it is primarily private partying in decorated fishing boats during a race around the bay, whilst raising funds for local causes.

Fishstock – A day long celebration in September of all things fish, within the Fish Market area – lots of music programmes, with two sound stages, exhibition hall for local groups and sellers, cooking demonstrations from local chefs and specialist seafood chefs on cooking and preparing fish, lots of food stands.

Brixham Pirate Festival – a weekend of pirate and smuggler based activities around the Quay and Golden Hind replica ship.

Torbay Steam Fair – a weekend in the summer, with a few stalls but activities based on displaying heritage steam engines

Brixham Hap'nin - The Brixham Hap'nin, also known locally as 'Party in the Park', is an annual live music and arts festival in Brixham. It is a two-day festival, operating out of St Mary's Park, Brixham, with live music, performances from local schools, food and drink market stalls and concessions, dance acts and amateur dramatics

RNLI Week - Torbay has been served by Lifeboats since 1866 and Brixham has provided the base for a lifeboat since then. The station was granted the Freedom of the Borough of Torbay in 1988. Torbay Lifeboat Station is based close to the Breakwater, and this becomes the centre of a series of events planned by the local volunteers and sponsors. Events include the „Walk the Extra Mile‟ for the Lifeboat crew and the prize draw, guided tours of the All Weather Lifeboat, „Brixham has Talent‟, with local school bands on the XRadio One Stage, and an evening ticket only event „Bands on the Beach

The Cultural Quarter: adjacent to each other at Bolton Cross and Market Street.

Brixham Library – standard small library, owned and funded by Torbay Council, with a strong Friends support group, arranging fund raising activities – exhibitions, poetry readings, small concerts and talks. They also staged a celebratory project, as part of the First World War commemorations, encompassing drama, music and exhibitions.

Brixham Heritage Museum - tells the story of Brixham, covering life in the port from the Stone Age through to the present da, with a strong nautical flavour. Owned and funded by Torbay Council, with strong volunteer staffing.

Brixham Theatre – a 250 seat heritage theatre, located in Brixham Town Hall, owned by Brixham Town Council and leased to Brixham Arts & Theatre Society. They operate it on a volunteer basis, staging professional and amateur concerts, dramas, panto and shows throughout the year. Currently undergoing a period of restoration and revival.

Churston Library - a small satellite library, next to the parade of shops in Churston, Owned and funded by Torbay Council and now under threat of closure.

Other venues locally

Music is a big feature of Brixham life, with many pubs and churches staging music nights (folk, jazz and blues), open mic nights and choral concerts.

Lupton House, Churston – a restoration project for a listed building and grounds, staging occasional events (World War II Weekends) and smaller scale concerts. There are also participatory arts activities.

Use of the arts for medicinal therapy and Well Being:

ACE (Access to Community Education) at Brixham College for recreational and educational activities for adults with disabilities and respite for carers within Torbay. They offer help and support for people with disabilities to access courses run both by ACE and the Adult and Community Learning Department, including swimming, pottery, art, sports mobility, creative writing and gardening.

Encouragement of volunteering activity at Brixham Theatre and Museum

Brixham Adult & Community Learning Centre at South Devon College in Paignton offer a wide range of adult education courses and qualifications.

Lupton Trust, at Lupton House, Churston, places a focus on the promotion of wellbeing and sustainable ways of living are central to everything they do, with an emphasis on harmony activities.

Improving the environment:

Pride in Brixham – volunteer group creating and caring for gardens around the town centre and quay, as well as painting and repairing benches, stanchions and stands around the Quay and the Central car park.

What could be developed for the future:

Brixham offers a great quality of life for its inhabitants and it is an established fact that art activities, the presence of a theatre, museum and library and seeing contemporary art in the public spaces attracts high spending retirees and businessmen to relocate to the town.

This is turn generates additional spend and income within the town, leading to increased employment, improved environment, less vandalism and low level crime and higher educational achievements.

Using environmental art to link the various parts of the town together:

Contemporary art trails (set into the ground and able to withstand foot and vehicle traffic) to lead from the Fish Quay up Fore Street to the Cultural Quarter (Library/Museum/Theatre) at Bolton Cross/New Road. Another alternative would be to have art trails mounted on buildings, but this is more problematic as they are individually owned, often by absentee landlords.

Currently the only „art‟ seen by visitors around Brixham that has any form of continuity are the images sprayed on buildings by a local „sub-Banksy artist‟, using a copy of a Banksy stencil in imitation. However, visitors do go looking for them and often comment on whether they are the „real‟ thing or not.

Colouring the buildings – encouragement of householders to use coloured pastel paints to decorate the terraced houses around the harbour, rather than white, beige or cream, to create a cheery and interestig townscape, again, often commented on by visitors to Brixham.

Colours of Brixham could become a theme for the town, given it is the name of a pop-up art shop created by the local artists.

The use of empty shops for pop-up galleries featuring both local and contemporary artists.

Links formed between Pride in Brixham and the Cultural Quarter area to bring more gardens to the entrance part of Brixham (change of development of Bolton Cross site to public realm space and hanging gardens).

Creating a more unified approach to sinage around the town, especially the harbour area. At present there is a mish mash of street furniture, signs, information boards and A frames, all in differing designs, depending upon which community group or local authority committee chose what when.

Encouraging contemporary artists to Brixham:

Creating art living/work space – possibly container city studios and homes as done in London Docklands at Trinity Buoy Wharf. May be a better use of space for the Oxen Cove/Freshwater cove than dirty marine repair and fish processing activities, which could be located at more suitable premises on Yelverton industrial estate.

Creation of container space studios alongside the large supporting wall on the Strand (already done at Watchet Harbour).

The creation of affordable studios and housing would encourage artists from far and wide to the town, inspired by the land and sea views.

The use of containers would be in keeping with the marine activities around the harbour.

Placement of contemporary public art

All building developments in the area should contribute a levy for public art (Percent for Public Art), with a minimum of one percent of the gross construction cost of each significant development be contributed to public art. This would need strong encouragement or enforcement by torbay council as part of the planning process.

All art commissioned should be of a contemporary basis, rather than yet more figurative heritage art, to encourage interest and awareness amongst the young people of the area, as well as attrracting more contemporary artists to live and work in the town.

Encouragement of local businesses to take part in an Art Bank – whereby they borrow (for a fee) contemporary art works from museums and galleries around the country, to be displayed for a month or more, increasing the visual and artistic quality of the town within both public and private spaces. This will raise artistic awareness amongst employees, particularly if a condition is that all employees choose the works, not just the owner or Director of the business.

Examples of sites would be Brixham College, Churston Grammar School, Churston Railway, South Devon College, dentists, Doctor and vet surgeries, shops, offices and businesses within the White Park industrial estate.

This is a tried and tested scheme, notably in Darlington.

Lingfield Point, Darlington, appreciate the difference art can make when brightening up a neighbourhood.

They believe that customers needing office space in Darlington choose their business park – not just for the location but for the quality of life – the neighbourhood is well-known for its culture and character. Art plays a major role in their cultural plans, with a positive impact on 2000+ employees based there.

Mima (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) is a gallery of modern and contemporary art based in the North-East in Middlesbrough. they offer the opportunity to have original, gallery-quality art on businesses walls with their new collection loans scheme. This opportunity allows themu to borrow contemporary, original artwork for their space –whether public or private.

They believe that hanging their original mima art upon their walls in their buildings sends all the right messages to their clients, staff and anyone else entering the neighbourhood. This is due to their art speaking volumes about the company‟s ethical values and high aspirations.

- See more at: http://www.lingfieldpoint.co.uk/the-power-of-art-will-make-a-difference-to-your- workplace/2312#sthash.70JTKk15.dpuf

Fostering sustainability for existing cultural activities:

Encouraging and supporting the Museum, Library and Theatre to develop activities and build spaces that aid income generation, reducing the need for subsidies.

Making their spaces more flexible, especially the theatre, to encourage use by commercial companies for conferences and presentations, bringing in more income to Brixham in terms of support services – accommodation, restaurants, activities. As part of this sustainability there could be development of Brixham Town Hall to marry with the design already used successfully on The Old Market House on the Quay. This involved the attachment of a glass balcony, which ensured the listed stonework of the main building was visible through the glass, yet added a more contemporary flavour to the site, and made it work for the 21st century use.

The proposed attachment of a glass box bar alongside a neglected side of Brixham Town Hall, creating a bar for the Theatre, would have the same effect, as well as creating a point of good design and interest in a dull aspect of the town, yet a key point facing the main car park and bus station area.

It would also make very clear that the town had a theatre, a point currently lost on both visitors and locals alike. It would portray Brixham as forward thinking, as well as cherishing the town‟s heritage buildings.

Attracting additional spend via arts and culture related activities:

Brixham Theatre has grown considerably in recent years, since it was leased to Brixham Arts & Theatre Society, and is bringing in larger scale acts (Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee, large scale folk and roots music bands and television performers for Comedy Nights). This is attracting audiences from a wider area across the South West, all spending money in Brixham.

Subsidy and sponsorship by local companies and the Chamber of Commerce would enable further development of this programming, leading to increased income for local businesses, aiding more local youth employment opportunities.

Up market hotels and guest houses, such as Kaywana Hall in Kingswear, and Berry Head Hotel, would be encouraged to direct guests towards events in the town and Theatre by offering themed weekends, particularly in the winter season.

Heritage:

Already plenty of work done on this by the Museum and other groups in town, especially the various Festivals.

The appointment of a Town Centre Manager would help with better communication between the various activities and groups within the town, avoiding clashes of dates and confusion of themes.

Festivals

Development of a sponsored Winter Festival for Brixham, similar to the activities in Mousehole and Dartmouth.

The aim would be to integrate the current Lights, Lanterns and „Luminations activities funded by Brixham Town Council to create a full weekend of activities. This would be along the lines of a show at the Theatre on Friday night, craft and art activities during the day on Saturday, a parade by children of made lanterns early evening, followed by the lights switch on and fireworks, and a Christmas Market in the street on Sunday morning.

This would have the benefit of attracting short break tourists to the town in a dead season.

More commercial development of local opportunities:

Walking tours of both heritage and contemporary architecture, possibly linked to themed activity weekends planned in conjunction with the hotels.

Re-opening or booked visits to the Brixham Caves, which may be difficult due to new Health and Safety regulations. It could create Kents Caverns II, a major tourist landmark in and a draw across the West Country.

More talks and walks featuring Brixham heritage – already town trails but only leaflets now available are based pirates as a child activity. Perhaps have trails themed on the town‟s architecture, both heritage and contemporary.

Encouragement of more industrial visits – already do Fish Market tours. Perhaps start talks and a cream tea as an afternoon activity at the Theatre, particularly if current plans for changing space within the auditorium come to fruition.

Town Centre development:

See Jonathan, MTA plan – Linking the Town Centre and the Lanes together and development of the Central Car Park.

Cecilia Kean MA, CDipAF