Three Storeys is a brand new destination, but really we are just the latest chapter in a building that has quite a back story.

100 years as Nailsworth Brewery
Some of the building may date back to the start of Nailsworth Brewery around 1820. Owned by the Clissold family, the Brewery grew in size and reputation throughout the nineteenth Century, and by 1891 the brewery buildings occupied most of the area between Butchers’ Hill and Brewery Lanes, as well as The Maltings in Tetbury Lane.

The oldest part of the current building may have included the great vat cellar, where vats for maturing beers were placed on rolled iron girders, supported by cast iron columns. Some of these columns are still visible today. A Victorian red brick extension was built in 1899.

The brewery was sold to Cheltenham Brewery in 1908 (who are said to have bought it to prevent it being purchased by their competitor, Stroud Brewery). It was closed shortly after, in spite of significant local concern.

100 years as The Comrades Club
The Comrades Club was formed at the end of World War I as an ex-servicemen’s club and met first in the old bottling department of the Brewery on the opposite side of Brewery Lane. By about 1930 the club had moved into the current building, which was then owned by Ben Johnson, and subsequently the Council. 

In 1983, the Club bought the premises from the Council. They opened up the top floor as a dance and banqueting hall and added a skittle alley. Around 1985, they rebuilt part of the northwest elevation, visible only from Brewery Lane,
which housed their meeting room and beer cellar.

In September 2018, the Club made the difficult decision to put the building up for sale. It was sold in June 2019, although the Club continued to operate for another few months, finally closing the doors on 31st August 2019 at the Brewery location.

The next chapter
When we took over the building in 2019, we embarked upon a long refurbishment programme with builders Chappell & Dix. The roof needed replacing as a matter of urgency, and the internal spaces needed a full strip back to rationalise the spaces, let light in, and re-invent the layout for its new purpose. We uncovered layers of history in the process, and have taken care to document what we found.

The build was extensive but not structural; we only knocked through one wall to create a doorway. But we uncovered and reinstated numerous windows, and this transformed the spaces dramatically. The Coronavirus pandemic hit mid-build, and delayed progress considerably whilst the site had to close. But we got back to work as soon as was safe, and were finally able to open the building in early 2021.

Now we are really enjoying sharing the building, seeing people working within the spaces we have created, and making connections between each other. With all sorts of exhibitions and events planned, Three Storeys has an exciting time ahead.