It Takes a Village... Or, in This Case, a Town

Blackfriars Theatre has been awarded the money to acquire historic building in the heart of Boston’s Cultural Quarter

After four years of determination, setbacks and an enormous amount of work behind the scenes, Blackfriars Theatre & Arts Centre has acquired the historic building on the corner of Spain Lane and South Street, known locally as Cheers.

It has taken a huge collective effort to get here and we could not be more excited about what comes next.

A shop window for the arts

Blackfriars, sitting just yards away on Spain Lane, has been a cornerstone of Boston’s cultural life for 60 years.

When the building became available, Blackfriars recognised an opportunity to create something it had never had before: a highly visible presence directly on South Street, bringing more activity into the town centre and creating a real shop window for the arts in Boston.

As more of the building’s history emerged, it became clear that this was also an opportunity to protect and restore an important part of Boston’s heritage.

Our ambition is not simply to occupy the building, but to give it a sustainable future through creative and community activity.

More than a theatre

The acquisition is made possible through investment from the Pride in Place Impact Fund from Boston Borough Council and local government, enabling Blackfriars to purchase the building and begin the first stages of its restoration.

But projects like this do not happen through funding alone. They happen because people make them happen.

This achievement reflects years of work by Blackfriars’ trustees and staff, alongside councillors, officers, local businesses, individuals and partner organisations.

It has taken persistence, collaboration and, more than once, the determination to regroup and begin again when things did not go to plan.

In many ways, that feels particularly fitting.

Blackfriars was created by local volunteers in 1966. Sixty years later, another generation of local people has come together to help secure the next chapter in its story.

Today, Blackfriars is a professionally run and growing theatre and arts centre. Since securing Arts Council funding in 2022, the organisation has expanded its professional team, led by Executive and Artistic Director Adey Ramsel, and dramatically increased the range of work taking place.

Audiences now come to Blackfriars for everything from plays, comedy and live music to dance, BBC broadcasts, pantomime, exhibitions, conferences and community activity.

Alongside this sit Blackfriars Theatre Academy, a growing schools programme and our international theatre festival.

Behind all of it, however, remain our volunteers.

For 60 years, generations of local people have given thousands upon thousands of unpaid hours to keep a theatre in Boston.

Today, volunteers continue to work across almost every part of the organisation, including front of house, box office, technical work, stewarding, set building, chaperoning, fundraising and countless jobs audiences may never see.

Through recessions, heatwaves, a pandemic and everything else six decades have thrown at it, Blackfriars has survived, grown and succeeded because people in this town have cared enough to make it happen.

This acquisition is another example of what that commitment can achieve.

What happens next?

The doors will not stay closed for long.

We are already preparing the building for some early activity while work continues towards securing the funding needed for a full restoration.

There will also be opportunities for people to step inside and see the building as it is now before that restoration begins, with details to follow.

After four years of trying to make this happen, we are incredibly proud to finally be able to say that this historic building is now part of the Blackfriars family.

And this is only the beginning.