A 15th-century church in Ipswich has been renovated and transformed into a multi-purpose music venue ahead of a town-wide festival kickstarting the summer.
St Stephen's Church has been turned into a music venue ahead of the Brighten the Corners Festival which is set to bring a "celebration to Ipswich in the sunshine."
The church has been used previously for music events, but in the past has had a pop-up bar and portable toilets set up outside.
Now though, with funding from Suffolk Public Sector Leaders, Ipswich Borough Council, Brighten the Corners and Needham Market contractors, Mixbrow Construction, the church has had an entire facelift.
It now has a full bar, stocking drinks from local brewery, Adnams, including a specially branded, Brighten the Corners lager, four toilets including one disabled, a stage and will have space for up to 225 spectators.
The windows have also had double glazing put over them, and pieces of history have been preserved throughout the church.
Work began on the church in January, with site manager Leon French from Mixbrow Construction saying it had been an "interesting project."
He continued: "It's highly acoustic here so that will be brilliant for the music.
"I have done a lot of historic work in my years, but this one has been the most interesting by far.
"Parts of the building were all rubble and flint, and there's a headstone on display which archaeologists would have been the headstone from the main entrance a while back, so we have put that in the wall and cased it in a frame.
"We have also left and protected the centrepiece of the church, and obviously there is still the bell tower at the top, which is still looking marvellous."
Project architect Hugh Bunbury said: "There were many technical aspects in designing this space for its refreshed use, including adding in new services, limiting noise levels and ensuring that the new toilets are almost silent.
"We had a tight programme to finish the building in time for the opening event and we’re especially pleased at how well the new pods and bar seem to fit inside the historic interior.
"The workmanship is excellent, and we can’t wait to see the stage kitted out for the first bands to perform in this new venue."
St Stephen's will be one of five venues hosting a town-wide music festival.
Brighten the Corners Festival will take place in five locations including the church, The Baths, The Smokehouse, Corn Exchange and the Cornhill, highlighting and celebrating regional music talents.
Marcus Neal, head of programming for the festival, said: "It's really exciting for us.
"It means a lot to be able to change from October to June for the festival because at the last festival, it was raining so much.
"Now, we really want to celebrate Ipswich in the sunshine.
"I feel so positive knowing that there are venues for artists to play at in Ipswich.
"Our big driver is to bring renowned artists that we really like and want to bring to audiences in Ipswich.
"We don't want to have to travel to Norwich, Cambridge or London to see really high-quality music.
"We want to bring it to our town, and this just adds to that."
Tickets for the festival are still available here, with wristband entry needed to visit the four inside locations.
The Cornhill Stage will be free on both Friday and Saturday for those to listen to in the centre of Ipswich.
Across the venues, the festival is set to bring in well over a thousand people, with a potential daily capacity of around 1,500 people.
Four-piece sister-fronted band, Three Years Younger, will be the first to christen the music venue on Friday at 5.30pm.
The festival starts at 2.20pm on Friday, June 9, on the Cornhill with Esme Emerson, and finishes with BBC Radio 6 DJ, Tom Ravenscroft, doing a live set in The Baths on Saturday, June 10, at midnight, finishing at 2am on the Sunday.
The full line-up of acts can be found here, while times for each of the venue's can be seen here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here