Always on
This project successfully funded on 10th March 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Save the Bread and Roses Community Arts Hub & Pub
Plymouth, United Kingdom
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Aim
We want to save one of Plymouth's important pubs and venues, in order to preserve a grass roots space for music, art, culture and good beer.
The Bread and Roses - A Success Story Facing Challenges
Who we are
We are a community interest company focussed on the arts, music and community. We are based in a historic public house in Plymouth, Devon, at the heart of a culturally diverse and vibrant, if challenged community. Bread and Roses has a lively, active and diverse arts and music programme which aims to represent the cultural diversity of the community we serve. We have a focus on all the creative arts, including music, poetry, performance, film and contemporary visual art. We do not charge for most of these events in order to make sure they are accessible to the whole community.
Bread and Roses Community Arts Hub CIC was formed in January 2013 by a group of people from the Plymouth area. Our aim was to revitalise the historic Trafalgar Inn in the centre of the city and create a space for community arts and events. The Inn had been empty and unused for some time. Owing to its historic nature and location we thought it would be an ideal focal point for the growing artistic community in Plymouth. We are located near the Arts University Plymouth, and the University of Plymouth. We thought there was a need for a community orientated arts space which brought contemporary art, music and more to the community which exists outside of the academy and gallery scene. We aim to provide a friendly and informal space for artists and musicians to interact with the local community. We are situated in an area with a high level of social and ethnic diversity and our arts programme seeks to reflect this. Bread and Roses aims to bring the arts to the wider community and promote understanding and community cohesion through artistic endeavour
Our business
The Community Interest Company was set up Limited by Guarantee in January 2013 and commenced trading in September 2013. Soon after opening, Bread and Roses soon required 9 or 10 people to work for us, all highly committed to our ethos and goals.
Our mission
Bread and Roses’ purpose is not profit, instead we want to make a contribution to the cultural life of Plymouth and beyond, which is why we invest the majority of the profit into creating activity groups and events that are free for the whole community to enjoy.
Our aims
- To support and foster all aspects of the arts in Plymouth and provide an independent venue for the promotion of innovative and creative ideas.
- To support local talent by creating an accessible space for individuals who wish to share their art, crafts or any other talent with the rest of the community
- To provide a venue for talks and poetry.
- To support local producers and small businesses.
- To provide a venue for community groups, campaigns and social activists to promote their ideas and causes.
- To provide a community hub in St Judes and Greenbank where people can come together to exchange views and ideas about the future of the area and the city of Plymouth.
- To provide ethical and good quality drinks at a reasonable price.
- To provide sustainable employment for a number of people in the city.
- To promote fair pay by offering at least the living wage to all staff members; and offering fair rates to artists and performers.
Art
We are a hub for the local arts scene and host a range of events including a rotation of artists in residence to interact with the pub community. Our courtyard walls outside are decorated by local artists and we often hold exhibition openings for new artists or to raise funds for arts projects with PCA or Plymouth University.
The unique set-up of the venue creates a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work, whilst also engaging the wider community in creative processes that may not be accessible to those outside the ‘gallery scene’. We encourage our resident artists to hold small seminars and workshops to aspiring artists who wish to learn more about the artist in residence thoughts and methods.
Culture & Community
B&R hosts a wide range of cultural events and community groups which allow people to interact with the arts, activities and each other.
Ongoing events and clubs include:
- Poetry night - monthly poetry and spoken word night
- Treasure craft fair – monthly artisan craft fair for individuals to sell their products
- Comedy night - fortnightly highly popular event
- Jazz jam - monthly jam session with local musicians
- Open mic - monthly event supporting newcomers
- Soulbliss - monthly disco night
- Art exhibition - by local artists, rotating every few months
- Music from local artists, in addition to professional musicians nationwide and abroad.
Challenges
The hospitality industry is struggling at the moment. Approximately one pub per day closes in England and Wales, with 366 closures recorded on 2025.
The closures are increasing because of sustained running cost pressures. This includes increased business rates, inflation, and National Insurance Payments. One of our biggest challenges is the massive increase in energy prices. Gas prices have increased by a factor of 10 - that's a 1000% while electricity costs 250% more than in 2022. We obviously need to heat the premises, and have hot water, but the main cost for us is a huge refrigeration unit that cools the cellar 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
These costs are determined by the government, and cannot be challenged - they are "sustained cost pressures". Therefore the fixed costs have eaten all our reserves, and earnings. As a result, our debts have increased beyond a sustainable level, and our business is likely to be threatened with closure unless we can meet these costs.
We thus need your kind donations to keep us afloat, so we can continue to provide a grass roots venue for the performing and visual arts to be enjoyed with good beer in a friendly pub. Thank you very much for your understanding and support!
Acknowledgements
We thank David Lea and Plymouth City Council for their help and guidance.
We also appreciate the support of Steven Adjei (author of "Chasing Permanence").
Many thanks to Abigail Netcott from The Box.
The Bread and Roses
62 Ebrington Street
Plymouth PL4 9AF
01752 659861
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made