Our Approach to Regeneration

The approach to the regeneration of Ashton Court Mansion reflects the stated purpose of BHBT, namely to restore Ashton Court Mansion as a vibrant, financially sustainable heritage venue that:

• Restores and celebrates its historical significance
• Generates long term income through commercial hire
• Benefits the local community through accessible cultural and wellness activities
• Acts as a flagship destination for Bristol and the wider region

How this purpose is reflected in the approach to the regeneration is twofold:

Firstly, the fact that the significance of the Mansion itself lies not in a single period, event or person but rather it is a reflection of a building that is a palimpsest. In other words, a building which reveals visible, superimposed layers of its historical development, where remnants of older structures coexist with, or are repurposed within, newer ones, including the changes carried out in the 1980s and indeed the fire of 2013.

Secondly that its regeneration is primarily to enable it to become a place for a diverse range of uses and users to enjoy and benefit from activities that are not specifically to do with its heritage. This is not to say that there be no activities or events that relate to understanding its history rather that these are only part of the range of opportunities on offer. This approach will create a range of spaces that can be used in different ways including for generating income from events and workspaces.

This is always likely to result in a complex situation in which there is no desire to create a series of pastiche spaces that conserve what is there and recreate what is not, nor to retain a series of existing fragments within a set of neutral contemporary spaces.

The challenge is to develop an approach to the building and indeed individual spaces that brings together heritage and use in a way that is intellectually justifiable. In the case of Ashton Court this is likely to result in a different solution for each of the spaces dependent of the proposed use of the space, the historical record available and the extent of the surviving artifacts. But it is a solution based on sound decision making.