Our venue is a wonderful church building in the heart of south County Durham. It has been a central resource for communities for over 100 years…and it’s still going strong. The original purpose of the building was to “undertake religious training of young people”. It is now a more secular building, but it retains its training purpose for our students. The building is made up of:
- Reception Hall
- 120 seat main hall with stage
- Drama Space 1
- Drama Space 2
- Music Studio
- Male and female toilets
- Kitchen
The Enter Centre is a production venue hosting professional theatre as part of the Take Off Festival of Children’s Theatre and is a receiving venue for professional theatre in its own right. For a copy of our venue technical pack for theatre companies, please contact us.
The venue is also a perfect place to hold meetings, coffee mornings, rehearsals, weddings, art exhibitions, wine tasting, conferences, awards ceremonies, corporate away-days, birthday parties, reunions and family gatherings. There is also a large, outdoor area with grass and benched tables. You can book any or all of the spaces (toilets are included with any hire!) by submitting a booking request.
Whatever you want to do in our venue, you will find it an inspirational place to work, play and meet.
Take a look at the gallery below. Click the images to enlarge.
Keeping Heritage Alive
Built in 1907 as a former Baptist church paid for by local miners. After over 100 years serving its community, we took it over and gave it a new lease of life.
It is a chameleon. It can change overnight from a workshop space, to a magical environment or from the depths of a coal mine to a clean-cut exam centre.
Everyone who visits the centre comments on its warm and welcoming atmosphere. We believe this is because the building was created to serve its community and when you enter, you feel wrapped in that sense of belonging.
Keeping the original vision
The Church has proved to be the ideal venue. It was built at the turn of the century to provide miners with a place of worship. For many years it operated as a Sunday School and provided provision for many young children within the local community. As times changed the Baptist Church took on an array of different roles and remained as a centre of worship until 2012.
It is wonderful to think that by utilising the building we have secured its future ensuring that the heritage of this area isn’t lost.