The Horton Arts Centre, Epsom has been open for one year.
Since 28 April 2022, we are delighted to have welcomed more than 20,000 people into the building, hosted hundreds of events and activities and spread positivity about mental wellbeing and the joy of creativity.
In the last 12 months at The Horton:
- 5000+ people have attended a performance, course or workshop
- 10,000+ people have eaten in our café
- 20,000+ visitors have viewed our free heritage exhibition
To celebrate our birthday, the venue has extended its opening hours to include every Friday night. You can now visit Tuesdays to Saturdays from 9:15am to 4:30pm, and Fridays 9.15am to 11pm.
Co-founder and manager Maria Reeves said: “The feedback over the last year has been amazing. Thank you to the community, to artists and performers, our staff, volunteers and trustees who have all played their part in making this year such a success.
“It has been very rewarding to strengthen our relationship with local organisations including NESCOT, UCA, mental health charities and our NHS next-door neighbours at Horton Rehabilitation Centre. Managing the fall out post-Covid and the cost-of-living crisis as a new not-for-profit enterprise has not been easy. But we have big plans to grow – offering more creative opportunities with lots of projects and events in the pipeline.”
The renovation of the former chapel was primarily funded by grant-giving organisations including National Heritage Lottery Fund but as an independent charity and free-to-enter venue, The Horton now needs your support to be fully sustainable. Every cup of coffee and show ticket sold helps to keep things going, but more visitors also means higher costs for the charity. The cost of living has had a big impact on our bills, and we need to maintain the Grade II-listed building and grounds for the community and future generations.
Give a Birthday Gift
For our first birthday we are launching a campaign asking those who can afford to make a gift, to pledge an amount as a one-off on on-going monthly donation.
Your donation will not only help to keep this beautiful building freely open to all, but could also help to inspire visitors and support the provision of enriching creative and cultural activities.
£10 birthday gift could buy
replacement cup and saucer for our café.
£25 birthday gift could buy
art materials for our free drawing table and activities for children.
£100 birthday gift could pay for
cleaning and repointing a metre of original brickwork.
£1000 birthday gift could pay for
a paid training placement for a young person.
Visit our donation page to give a birthday gift.
Thank you to everyone for their support. We hope to see you at The Horton soon.
