New beginnings for a classic old space

Stroud's Brunel Goods Shed is now open again. Hooray!

It has been empty since it closed for business as the Stroud Goods depot in the mid-60s. It was built as part of the original Brunel wide-gauge western region railway, with a direct line to Paddington in London. Apparently it is the only building of its type left in original condition. I will try to show more blips of it in due course.

So for the first time in thirty-five years the building is being used again, after all the efforts of the Stroud Preservation Trust to look after it and enable it to be brought back into use. As a Trustee, I am understandably delighted. It is early days, as there is a lot more regenerative work to be achieved, but from various chats today, it seems many people are visiting and discovering the building for the first time.

The new tenants are Stroud Valley Artspace, who have a very strong presence in the town, and who run the annual Open Studios in the Five Valleys, where Stroud sits at their conjunction. This exhibition opened yesterday with a private view, when I gather this whole space was filled with people; this view shows only a quarter of the available space. I am adding a link HERE to the SVA Site Festival programme brochure, which is well designed and shows the range of events, as well as guide to the Open Studios of the artists.

I was asked to try and get some pictures of the Brunel Goods Shed in use for our Trust's future publicity, as we need to show how the investments from the many funders has at last enabled the community to access the building.

I have borrowed a Sigma 17-70mm lens, which is well reviewed, but both the owner and I find it just not quite good enough, compared to the various Canon lenses we also use. For me it is the sharpness and the colour rendition which is not as good as hoped for. I do need a new wide zoom as my old one died recently, in unexplained circumstances. I have just bought a new 35mm prime lens, but it hasn't arrived yet. I really want to try to use it as much as possible and learn to push it to its limits.

ps
The graffiti you can see on the lower part of the walls is not part of the exhibition. It was added when the building was open to the four winds, before we put in the five shutters across the original entrances last year.