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The rooms have been named with the River Stour as a theme. "The Stour Hall" is surrounded by the tributary rivers and brooks around Sturminster Newton.
Upper Floor
The Stour Hall is the main auditorium and the biggest room. This has a generous stage and for performances will have raked seating for 150, with room for another 150 seats on the floor. For other events the raked seating will fold away, leaving a clear floor. Both the main floor and the stage will have semi-sprung beech wood floors. When not used for performance, the stage will act as an extension to the main space.
On one side glass doors open onto a terrace, which extends to the Railway Gardens. At the end of the terrace will be the Elisabeth Frink bronze sculpture. A well-equipped kitchen serves into the Stour Hall to cater for major functions, and will allow Age Concern to cook for lunch clubs.
The Bow Room is inside the curved wall looking out over Station Road. This is an unusually-shaped room, big enough to seat about 60 people for meetings or smaller events. Refreshment facilities and access to a kitchenette are available.
This opens into the Bibbern Gallery, which has a "glass wall" looking out towards Hambledon Hill and the Rotary Market Column. The bar will be in this room, serving the Stour Hall and the Bow Room. It is also a space for exhibitions or just to meet and chat.
These rooms are on the upper ground floor, with access from the large car park alongside the new road, Old Market Hill. Also at this level are the new Town Council offices and a community office for SturQuest
Lower Floor
The lower ground floor is entered from the car park on the Station Road side of the building. A large porch next to the new Co-Op Foodstore opens into the
Lower Atrium. This is a big area for indoor markets, but available for exhibitions and other activities - more for walking around than sitting down. The Atrium contains curved stairs, rising to the upper ground floor, with a spectacular and specially commissioned wrought iron balustrade on the theme of rivers.
The other rooms are:
Chivrick (under the Bow Room) with a soft, wipe-clean floor, particularly suitable for children's groups.
Next to this, Lydden is intended for Community Learning.
Next again are Darknoll and Divelish - a pair of rooms, each with a cloakroom and shower, for use as dressing rooms if the stage is in use, but otherwise as convenient meeting or committee rooms.
A lift connects the two main floors.
On the first floor, also reached by the lift, a wide gallery runs along one side of the Stour Hall.
Above the Town Council and SturQuest offices are five offices to let, intended as economical starter units.
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