ON its gala opening night in July 1965, the Swan Theatre was hailed as the new home of the arts in Worcester.

The foundation stone was laid by Dame Peggy Ashcroft in 1963 and over the years it has played host to an array of stars as diverse as former Monty Python star Michael Palin and Spanish classical guitar virtuoso Segovia.

But it has a particular place in the hearts of many people in Worcester because the £50,000 it took to build it was raised largely through public contributions.

Some bought a brick for a pound - these were left exposed and had the purchasers' initials stuck to them. A local firm donated the staircase from the ground floor to the first floor.

The idea came from a group called the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA), which became the Society for the Advancement of Music and the Arts (SAMA).

And its chairman, Sara Knight, was a prime mover in turning the dream into a reality.

The building's architect, Henry Gorst, 86, who still lives in the city, said Mrs Knight dedicated her life to the Swan.

"She spent practically the whole of her life, right up until she died, raising funds for the theatre," he said.

The campaign really got going after a public meeting at the Guildhall in March 1962.

More than 600 people turned out and voted wholeheartedly in favour of forming an Arts Theatre Council.

The site, in The Moors, on the edge of Pitchcroft racecourse, was chosen and cleared - it had previously been the municipal tip - and the hard work really started.

Because it was funded entirely through donations, grants from the city and county councils and gifts from commercial and industrial enterprises, it had to be built in stages.

First the foundations, then more fund-raising, next the steel frame, then more fund-raising, and so on - it took two-and-a-half years to complete.

Mr Gorst said that the contractor who erected the steel frame asked what would happen if the money could not be raised to complete the ambitious project.

He was told by Mrs Knight that the frame would stand as a warning to the citizens of Worcester that they did not want a theatre and it would stay up there until it rusted away.

But the money was found and the theatre had its grand opening gala night on Monday, July 19 1965.

For many years, it ran on a purely voluntary basis and it has always provided a home for amateur drama and music groups.

But it eventually became a professionally-run theatre.