​In 2026, the Chantry Centre charity will proudly celebrate 100 years since the original development of its site in Long Street, Dursley as a community hub dedicated to social, sports, and arts events.
​
The origins of this transformation date back to 1926, when the directors and employees of R A Lister & Co. Ltd, the predominant employer in Dursley and the surrounding area, formed a Recreation and Social Club. The Club rapidly became very popular with Lister staff and their families, so later that same year, the directors decided to provide premises as the Club’s headquarters. This allocated building in Long Street was known as “The Chantry.”
​
​Why was the building so-called?

The name has early medieval origins, but by around 1300, chantry referred to an arrangement where priests were paid to say masses and prayers for specific individuals - typically those who had made financial endowments for the chapels and clergy.

​

Dursley’s Parish Church, St. James the Great, has two such Chantry chapels:

• The Lady Chapel (or St Mary) on the north side, dating to 1320.

• The Tanner Chapel, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, established in the mid-15th century by wool merchant Thomas Tanner, whose wool mark is still visible in the chapel today.

​

The priests employed in celebrating masses in the chantries would have lived nearby, and their residence became known as "The Chantry" or "The Chantry House." This building was located on the current site now occupied by the Chantry Centre.

​

Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, Chantries were formally suppressed in 1547 during the reign of Edward VI. The fate of the priests in Dursley is not known.

​

​

​

Although land records for the site before the late 18th century are sparse, by the reign of Elizabeth I, the Estcourt family, longstanding landowners in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, had acquired the town and manor of Dursley.

 

In 1608, a legal document shows that the Chantry lands and houses in Tetbury (Estcourt properties) were in the same ownership. Our first clear record of later ownership comes from 1781, when William Vizard leased the “Chantry Ragge” from Thomas Estcourt for 99 years. The origin of the term "Ragge" remains a mystery!

​​

Members of the Vizard family were attorneys and solicitors, and a partner in the firm, J. G. Wenden, moved into the building in 1899. Later, a member of the Lister family, George, lived there before the building was gifted by the company to the Recreation and Social Club.

​

​

​

The redevelopment of the Chantry building was completed in 1926. Plans included:

• A radio room, library, and a dedicated ladies' reading room

• A large, multifunctional hall used as a works mess room, dance venue, and entertainment space, with seating for 900!

• A stage at one end and a bandstand on the garden side, adaptable for indoor or outdoor performances in the garden.

 

Today, this same hall, still known as the Lister Hall, remains the heart of the Centre, having changed little over the decades despite some rearrangement and enhancements such as the installation of retractable raised seating.

​​​

Historically, a covered corridor led from the main building to the garden, connecting to swimming baths and a skittle alley. While the baths have long since disappeared, the skittle alley lived on. After a temporary setup inside the Lister Hall, a new two-lane skittle alley was built facing Long Street.

​

Over the years, the building has continued to evolve while maintaining its original community focus.​​​​​