More than 80 people came forward to help Gloucester City Council, Heritage Service record the old Clutch Clinic, Commercial Road, before demolition later this year to make way for a new £5 million Language Immersion Centre, making it the biggest community research project ever done in Gloucester.
Now the Heritage Service wants to share its findings. Public updates will be made at the Wheatstone Hall at Gloucester City Museum from 10am – 3pm on 13 February and again on 6 March before a final report is prepared.
Chris Oldershaw, Chief Executive of the Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company (GHURC), said: The proposed Language Immersion Centre will sit on the site of the former Clutch Clinic and is part of the wider regeneration of Blackfriars. Over the last few months the site has undergone extensive archaeological investigation, but before demolition we needed to ensure that there was a full record of the existing building.”
The old Clutch Clinic building is a wide variety of architectural styles built up over many decades.
Councillor Martyn White, city council cabinet member for heritage and leisure, commented: “Gloucester’s regeneration programme is aimed at helping to transform us into a modern 21st century city.
“But we have 2000 years of history and it is important that this gets recorded and preserved for future generations. This importance is reflected in the number of people who have come forward wanting to help.”
Lisa Donel of the City Council’s Heritage Service says: “It is essential to maintain proper records of Gloucester through the ages and we were delighted that so many people came forward either wanting to help with the recording project or to share their memories with us.
“One man got in touch to tell us that he was an apprentice for Westgate Motors in 1958. Another lady told us that she used to live at 17 Ladybellegate Street and remembered the sounds of tinkling bottles when it was Talbots bottling plant.
“The project was really driven by volunteers from the community. We had around 8 people per day working on the field project, during the worst of the snowy January weather. Others were inside researching.”
During the project the volunteers received training in surveying, photography, building recording, interpretation and report writing. One team researched the historical background to the buildings and a second team worked on site. A third team focussed on gathering local memories, hearing from people who either worked at the site or lived near it and offered memories of how some of these buildings were used in the past.
For those unable to make the update presentations, more information is available from Lisa Donel at Gloucester City Council Heritage Service on 01452 396343. lisa.donel@gloucester.gov.uk.
Background facts on the ‘Clutch Clinic’
Following its dissolution of the Priory in 1539, the buildings had various domestic and manufacturing uses.
Maps from 1712, 1740, 1605 and 1843 show the site of the former Clutch Clinic” as open land and what appears to be formal garden.
In 1845 Thomas Talbot began a mineral water bottling company, and subsequently moved into parts of the priory, mainly the south and east ranges. Sometime prior to 1891, the company expanded and new premises were built fronting Commercial Road. However, Talbots continued to use parts of the priory buildings. Talbots continued in business until around 1958, having sold the property on Commercial Road and returning to the South Range of Blackfriars.
In 1954 the Commercial Rd factory site was relinquished and taken over by Westgate Motor House who undertook a major reconstruction to build a car showroom, repair workshops and petrol station, operating as Blackfriars Motors. This business extended into the cloister of the priory.
After Westgate Motors vacated the site, various businesses associated with the motor trade used the buildings culminating in the Clutch Clinic (around 1980-2001). At the same time, the upper area became the Glevum Pool Centre (1986).