Restoration of the Station in Richmond.
Richmond Station, situated just outside the historic town of Richmond on the banks of the river Swale, was built in 1846 and formed the terminus of the branch line to Richmond. The station closed in 1969 and was converted for use as a Garden Centre.
In 2002 the old Richmond Station building, now a 2* listed building, became redundant and the owner, Richmondshire District Council planned to sell it to developers.
Under the direction of a small community group, the Richmondshire Building Preservation Trust was formed in 2003 made up entirely of volunteers with no experience of projects of this scale.
Consulting the local community and with modest funding a feasibility study was undertaken.
The vision was a multi-use venue which would ideally incorporate a Cinema, Meeting Rooms, Cafe – Restaurant, Arts display space and some form of visitor attraction. It also had to be self-sustaining financially.
The Trustees networked to locate all possible funding options. Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency had already given a commitment, European funds and the Heritage Lottery Fund were also identified as significant sources. The grant applications, and private fundraising was done almost entirely by the Trustees or by supporters who all gave their time for nothing.
Against the odds, the funding was all put in place and work commenced in 2006. Finally, £2.7m was spent to re-open the Station in November 2007 as a venue for Film, Food and Art.
The vision was realised, and the project was self-financing from the first year of operation. The Station, in its new guise, has just celebrated its 10th Birthday.
This superb Victorian building has been brought back to life as an art gallery and exhibition space, community venue for groups, meetings and classes, and home to a variety of small, artisan businesses. If that wasn’t enough, we also have a three-screen cinema and a restaurant/café – somewhere to meet your friends for lunch, drop in for a coffee or to enjoy a pre-cinema meal.
The find out more and for a full timetable of events and to see what is showing at the cinema, visit their website.
The history of the Station