Warminster’s historic Athenaeum has received a £1,000 funding boost to support the running of the town’s Grade II listed theatre.
The donation has been made by Jubilee Garden’s housebuilder Persimmon Homes Wessex through its Community Champions scheme.
Jon Ellis, Vice-Chair of the Athenaeum Trust, said, “Running a Grade-II listed building is not without challenges, and some considerable costs, so whilst we can secure grant-funding for specific physical projects, it’s great to have the support of local organisations such as Persimmon that allow us the ability to invest in other areas such as development and training of volunteers and support tools to enable us to operate more efficiently.
“We hope that the new residents of Jubilee Gardens come to love and enjoy the Athenaeum, as so many locals have done over the years, contributing to making Warminster a great place to live and relax.”
The trust manages the Athenaeum, Wiltshire’s oldest working theatre, which provides education, entertainment and social welfare facilities for the residents of Warminster and surrounding area. The venue hosts the town’s foodbank and multiple local community and theatre groups.
Pauline Fletcher, Persimmon Homes Wessex Sales Director, said, “As part of our commitment to the town, we were very keen to assist a group that makes a difference in Warminster, and so we were delighted when the Athenaeum expressed its interest in our Community Champions funding scheme. We hope this donation proves helpful to them.”
Pictured: Cllr Russell Hawker, Neave Crook (Sales Advisor at Charles Church) and Athenaeum trustees Phil Keeble and Jon Ellis
