Historic Buildings

Holy Trinity Church: new community hub

Reviving Colchester’s Saxon Heart This project will restore Holy Trinity Church - the oldest standing building in Britain’s first recorded city - and return it to daily public use for the first time in nearly a decade. Urgent conservation will secure the Grade 1 listed Anglo Saxon tower and medieval fabric, removing the building from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. The renewed building will reopen as The Trinity Centre: a heritage first, flexible civic space offering inclusive access, learning, creativity and community activity. Interpretation shaped around four themes - Place, Science, Music and Compassion - will connect 1,000 years of innovation to Colchester today. A new charitable organisation (CLG) will safeguard long term public benefit, with venue operations delivered by Amphora, the city’s established cultural operator. The legacy will be a fully restored landmark with guaranteed heritage access, a sustainable business model, and a vibrant programme that strengthens Colchester’s identity, wellbeing and civic life. The project will set a new benchmark for the adaptive reuse of Grade 1 listed urban churches, demonstrating how heritage, community and civic identity can be integrated in a financially resilient model.