Chapels of Rest

@dialectwriters collective are running day-long workshop in the South Chapel this Friday 15 May from 10am-4pm: If your poems are gathering in little constellations // if you can feel a pamphlet forming but don’t know how to shape it // this workshop with JLM Morton is the place you get it together, get organised, and get it done! Whether you’re sitting on a messy stack of drafts or a nearly-there manuscript, this is a day for clarity, momentum, and that satisfying click into place when the work suddenly makes sense when put together. Best words. Best order - as Coleridge (almost) said. We’ve got a great venue for this one at the deconsecrated Chapels of Rest on Bisley Road, Stroud @chapelsofrest , Friday 15th May, 10am – 4pm. Bring your own lunch and enjoy panoramic views across the valleys and over towards the Severn vale! Your tutor for the day is @jlmmorton - an award-winning poet and emerging publisher whose commissions and projects have recently been selected for the Poetry Book Society Summer Pamphlet Choice and shortlisted for the Michael Marks Awards. Safe pair of hands. To book go to >>> .uk/coursesworkshops/get-it-together-making-a-poetry-pamphlet

We were delighted to host the @caw.choir in the chapels on Sunday for their first rehearsal in our newly opened up South Chapel. A small audience of friends & family attended an uplifting and magical performance at the end. Follow them for their official local tour dates if you want to enjoy it in person. We hope they come back again to rehearse soon.

Exhibition on today and tomorrow

This exhibition shows new work by Janet Biard @janetbiard Sally Curzon @salcurzonart Louise Hajichristou @louisehajichristou_fineart Who are exhibiting part of their Final Year Show. You’ll also be able to see the progress of the recent restoration works in the South Chapel. Private View from 6pm -7pm on Friday 24 April Exhibition Open on Friday 24 & Saturday 25 April 2026, from 10am - 4pm Free drawing session on 25 April at 10.30 Please email [email protected] to book a place

Registers of Time and Place Exhibition at the chapels - open now! The exhibition will show new work by Janet Biard @janetbiard Sally Curzon @salcurzonart Louise Hajichristou @louisehajichristou_fineart Who are exhibiting part of their Final Year Show. You'll also be able to see the progress of the recent restoration works in the South Chapel. Private View from 6pm -7pm on Friday 24 April Exhibition Open on Friday 24 & Saturday 25 April 2026, from 10am - 4pm Free drawing session on 25 April at 10.30 Please email [email protected] to book a place

NEW DATES FOR YOUR DIARY We're looking forward to hosting the 'Registers of Time' exhibition at the chapels on the Friday 24 and Saturday 25 April. The exhibition will show new work by Janet Biard @janetbiard Sally Curzon @salcurzonart Louise Hajichristou @louisehajichristou_fineart Who are exhibiting part of their Final Year Show. You'll also be able to see the progress of the recent restoration works in the South Chapel. Private View from 6pm -7pm on Friday 24 April Exhibition Open on Friday 24 & Saturday 25 April 2026, from 10am - 4pm Free drawing session on 25 April at 10.30 Please email [email protected] to book a place

On Good Friday 1961 my uncle Richard drove down the M1 going home from Birmingham to Gerard’s Cross for Easter. He headed down it the wrong way and didn’t survive the collision. My grandmother ‘Ma’ never recovered and spent years trying to contact Richard through spiritualists My cousin gave me a suitcase in which Ma had kept Richard’s things. It contained a note. @annacadyartist and I made a seven part film installation two years ago @chapelsofrest in response to the contents of the suitcase, the note and two red notebooks holding Ma’s thoughts and messages to Richard. (sound on image 4) I’m thinking of my friends who have lost their children and the yearning and chasm in their lives today and every day ❤️ #goodfriday ‘All of these things belonged to Richard I have cherished them - please you who handle them after me do the same. The yellow sweater and the ties may be taken and used if liked. His Mother’

I popped into the South Chapel over the weekend and just look how beautiful it is inside now all the boarding has been taken down revealing the vaulted ceiling and look at those windows too! We’ve got an art exhibition coming up in there on 24 & 25 April (more about this later this week) so put the dates in your diary and you can see the renovation work-in-progress for yourself.

Phase 1 of work renovating the South Chapel is coming along nicely. The windows have been unblocked so we now have natural light streaming into the building! The old mezzanine has been removed, the concrete render inside removed and work repairing the roof continues…. Photos courtesy of our architect @architect_andrewdavy #stroudpreservationtrust

We are delighted to announce that essential repairs have started in the south chapel. Listed Building Consent was granted on 6 February: this was the signal for work to begin. We’ve started inside – the unsuitable cement plaster on the long wall has been removed, the windows have been unblocked, and the mezzanine has been dismantled. We had hoped to keep the pieces of the mezzanine, but it proved to have been welded in position. We have commissioned a sketch design for a possible new mezzanine, which will then be costed: that will give us good information when we come to deciding whether to replace the mezzanine or not. The windows have been covered temporarily with chipboard: clear polycarbonate sheets will be installed as an interim measure. This will make the chapel much lighter. In the longer term we will raise funds to pay for full window restoration. Over the next few weeks, the ceiling boards will be removed, and the roof tiles will be replaced. All this will be done before the next booking at the end of April.

Next up is 'Wassail for the Chapels', which is taking place in the Chapels of Rest on Sunday 18 January 2026, from 14:30-16:30. Come join us for a festive gathering in aid of the chapels restoration project. Bring your friends and family for an afternoon filled with seasonal joy and song, including: - Hugh Barton and Friends sing seasonal songs - Audience carols - Poems and stories - Mince pies, mulled wine and juice Sunday 18 January 2026, 2:30 – 4:00pm £10 (£5 concession) children free Donations and ticket sales will help fund the restoration of the chapels's windows. It'll be chilly so wrap up warm, bring a blanket and a torch might be advisable for making your way out of the cemetery at the end of the event! This is a standing event, but there will be a few chairs for those that really need them. Please walk or park on the Bisley Road or on a nearby street. Very limited Blue Badge Parking at the Chapels of Rest - thanks. Get your tickets now via (or see the ticket link in our bio) or buy them on the door - please note cash only!

What a beautiful start to the @stroudtrinityrooms St Lucia Day Lantern Parade & Celebration starting at the Chapels of Rest.