REVIEW AND ANALYSIS 31 are very different, as is the social and economic climate. The deindustrialisation of the Swansea Valley, once the world’s dominant copper smelting centre, has stripped out investment. Many of the rival nonconformist chapels that St Luke’s was built among, some architecturally splendid, did not survive. The Grade II listed Libanus Chapel, just 100 metres away, closed in 2000 and following a fire in 2012 was approved for demolition by the council. St Luke’s finally closed in 2014. A cautious surveyor’s report saw it mothballed and then auctioned by the Church in Wales. The first buyer aimed for residential conversion but local development economics thwarted that ambition and the plan came to nothing. In 2018 it was finally acquired by Circus Eruption. By then the building had unmet conservation needs, of course, but it was in fact structurally sound. WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS! Circus Eruption was born in 1991, initially from the want of integrated provision for young people with disabilities who too often experienced segregation. Circus Eruption is open to all, creating spaces where everyone can belong. Mostly it does this through circus workshops, but the organisation is responsive to need and has recently opened its building regularly for anyone needing warmth, food and a welcome. Radical integration destigmatises and equalises, so the organisation’s work now intentionally embraces a diversity of needs. It is actively inclusive of challenges like being in care, a refugee or an asylum seeker, or having a disability, but it also continues to welcome those with no obvious challenges. Children, young people and families can engage and learn new skills together in a constructive, supportive environment, leading to gains in confidence, resilience, a sense of belonging and crucially, fun. For most of their 30 years, Eruption had moved from temporary homes to meanwhile spaces. A school hall served for decades, then disused retail park units and briefly a hired church. For many of the young people who attend, the long-term weekly workshop is an island of stability. The accelerating itinerancy made the desire for a permanent home more urgent. The basic requirement was a large, accessible room with high ceilings for juggling, diabolo, stilt-walking and maybe even aerial performance. A building that might raise their profile would be a bonus. As their second retail space allocated for charity lets drew to an inevitable close in late 2017, Circus Eruption researched dozens of unused buildings to rent, including St Luke’s, which was still developer owned. However, by the autumn of 2018, Circus Eruption had secured an informal loan, enabling them to explore purchase opportunities. So, when the former St Luke’s appeared for sale, a second call inspired the developer to take the building off the market and enable the team to explore it as a potential permanent home. The developer helpfully opened up the building on more than ten exploratory visits during which experienced friends and professionals visited the building, offering advice from a variety of perspectives. Some warned against a small inclusion charity taking on a listed property, while others gave practical reports and professional opinions to inform the charity’s assessment. On balance, it seemed clear that this building had the capacity to meet Circus Eruption’s current and future requirements, and the sale was completed in April 2019. Accessibility for all is nonnegotiable for Circus Eruption so a sloping site elevated about two meters off the pavement brought immediate challenges. But Swansea copes with some formidable level changes and save for the forecourt wall and railings, the church’s tarmac plot was of no significance. In February 2020, listed building consent was granted for the replacement of the steps with a long ramp. While a blocked-up doorway into the former organ loft beside the chancel was reopened, a fine new hardwood boarded door was commissioned to fill it. Simultaneously, Swansea Council’s supportive conservation officer approved alterations to remove pews and raise the floors around these to meet the level of both the pews’ platform and the reinstated threshold. The vacant vestry now accommodates an accessible toilet. Despite the pandemic, these works were completed by the summer of 2021. AN ACCIDENTAL HERITAGE PROJECT Although taking on this former church is an accidental sort of heritage project, Circus Eruption has embraced the challenges posed by a listed building and is living out the multi-layered sustainability that all old buildings promise. Heritage skills have been built on the job and there is an inevitable element of experiment. Progress towards completion is phased as the charity’s core inclusion work continues. This often necessitates flexibility and creativity to maintain momentum as the determination and openness of the charity’s director, staff and volunteers accumulate goodwill and expertise around it. An academic mycologist offered support when opening was delayed by a dry The church of St Luke in Cwmbwrla, Swansea was built in 1889, closed in 2014 and the building was acquired by Circus Eruption in 2018. (Photo: Alfie Stroud)
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