Stroud Festival of Religious Drama and the Arts

Festival scrapbooks, 1941-1997

Minutes & reports 1959-1995

Constitution, 1963-1968

Accounts, 1982-1995

Correspondence & admin papers, 1960-1996

Publicity material, 1947-1991

Scripts & scores, 1963-1989

Annual poetry competition, 1967-c. 1985

Art exhibitions, 1990-1992

Photographs, late 19th/early 20th cent-1983

Other papers, (1861)-1995

Documents deposited by the Directors of the Stroud Festival Company, per Mr P Hoult, Secretary

The Stroud Festival of Religious Drama and the Arts takes place annually each October. It was founded by Netlam Bigg to provide an outlet in Stroud for the arts. As a Commissioner for Scouts, Mr Bigg wanted to relieve the gloom of the post war years and was concerned that his Scouts and other young men did not have opportunities to enjoy the arts, and were indeed suspicious of them. In 1947 the St Lawrence Scout Group, led by Mr Bigg, sponsored a religious drama staged in Stroud parish church which was to become the focus of the annual Festival. (See D4891/11/4 below for a more detailed account of the Festival's origins). In subsequent years the scope of the Festival became increasingly ambitious, including music, dance, drama, exhibitions of visual art and an annual poetry competion. New plays and musical works were commissioned for the Festival (see section D4891/7/ below). In the mid 1980s the Arts Council withdrew its funding and the Festival Directors had to devote much time to the search for sponsorship. Despite financial difficulties the Festival continues to date, albeit on a smaller scale; around nine events are planned for the 1998 Festival. This reflects the Directors' intention to support the arts in Stroud more generally in future, rather than concentrate resources solely on the Festival.

The backbone of this archive are the Festival scrapbooks (listed as section D4891/1/ below) compiled by founder Netlam Bigg until his death in 1988. They include newscuttings, programmes, photographs, correspondence and other memorabilia. The first volume (D4891/1/1) begins with the activities of the St Lawrence Scout Group. The scrapbooks were presented by him to the Festival Directors on 7 October 1984 and ceremoniously handed for safekeeping to the Record Office, as documented in scrapbook D4891/1/14 below. The other papers in this archive were deposited as a consequence of the Directors' decision to lease Highmead House, home of Netlam Bigg and used as the Festival's administrative headquarters even after his death (see D4891/11/5 for details).