The Escape Arts & Heritage Centre
The Escape Arts & Heritage Centre is our Charity Home, located in the heart of Stratford-upon-Avon, where we have been based since 2015.
This is where we run our adult creative workshop programme every Monday through to Thursday, as well as hosting a series of exhibitions and events that are open to the wider public on select days throughout the year. We are located between Sheep Street and Bridge Street and can be accessed via the Old Red Lion Court.
Step back in time...
The Escape Arts & Heritage Centre is a Grade II Listed former slaughterhouse, once operating at the back of Henson’s Butchers, a popular and well-remembered business in the town. After moving into the building in 2015, our heritage volunteers began a journey of discovery to find out more about the history of the site.
Our volunteers were surprised to find out that our venue was once part of a much larger site that had a rich 500-year history that was home to a diverse variety of different trades. Whilst we know about its recent history as a butchers, it was also a bakers… no evidence of a candlestick makers, but there once stood a Tudor Pub here called The Crowne that occupied the site for almost 200 years. There was also a flaxdressers, a chemist and even a 15th century shoemaker!
Our Digital Timeline
To celebrate this rich history, we created the Old Slaughterhouse Digital Timeline, a multimedia journey taking you back in time over the last 500 years.
The Timeline brings the former tradesman at the Escape Arts & Heritage Centre site to life through virtual reality films, animation, creative work, and audio recording. Also captured is a brief history of Stratford-upon-Avon, which puts the milestones at the Escape Centre into context.
The Escape Arts & Heritage Centre is open to the public on select days and weekends during the year as part of our exhibition and events programme. Take a look at our What’s On page to see what we’ve got coming up!
Hire the Escape Arts & Heritage Centre
It's a great venue for workshops, parties, meetings, band rehearsals and even exercise classes!