Band room renovation and extension

Aim

Renovate and extend our existing band room to provide a suitable space to provide community-based music activity

Stanhope Silver Band is one of the oldest surviving brass bands in the world, tracing it's origins back to 1823 when the Band of Hope is first recorded as playing in Stanhope Methodist Chapel.  Today we are a non-contesting community band and charity whose purpose is to provide an opportunity for people of all ages to get involved in brass band music, either through playing or simply by being able to listen to and enjoy it.  We have 25 members, ranging in age from early teens to eighty plus.  We provide free music lessons and instrument loan to enable those who might otherwise not be able to take up playing to do so.  We support a wide range of community-based events, from the annual Stanhope and Weardale Agricultural Society shows, Remembrance Day services, church events etc. as well as visiting the local hospital and nursing home at Christmas to entertain patients and residents with Christmas carols.  We are based in a former shop premises in Stanhope which we have owned since the 1990s when our previous premises was destroyed by fire, along with much of its contents.  Whilst this has served us well, the premises are in need of urgent updating and expansion to make them suitable for continued use.  Specifically, we lack space to safely and hygienically accommodate the band during rehearsal and the premises are not suited for people with impaired mobility.  The need for social distancing due to Covid19 and the likelihood of this continuing for the foreseeable future mean that without work to extend our premises, we will be unable to continue to use them as a base  which threatens the continued survival of the band.  We are therefore fundraising to allow us to carry out extension and renovation work to our band room to ensure its continued fitness and help ensure the survival of the band.

This project successfully funded on 21st September 2021