In 1971/2 Great Linford was one of the first existing villages within Milton Keynes to be absorbed within the new city development and in 1971/2 MK Development Corporation bought Great Linford Manor freehold to become a ‘unique amenity accessible to the city’s residents’.
Money was raised to restore the Thatched Barn, Schoolhouse and Almshouses and in 1974 The Great Linford Arts Centre Trust was created as one of the then new town’s earliest arts centres.
The chairman of Milton Keynes Development Corporation and President of what was then Great Linford Arts Centre, Lord Campbell of Eskan, said upon its opening:
“We are aiming to make something special at Great Linford – a creative centre to which people will really want to come – not just to fill in time but to find out their own capabilities and to develop them in the company of other kindred minds and spirits.”
The Arts Centre was based in the Manor with studios, workshops, a performance space and gallery, bar, restaurant both there, in the Almshouses and in the purpose-built Radcliffe Building built on the site of the otterhounds kennels in 1981. The studios were for jewellery, woodworking, pottery and sculpture, with the jewellery provision being unique in Bucks. The gardens to the east of the house showed sculptures by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore.
The Manor House closed as an Arts Centre in 1984. The Schoolhouse and Almshouses were closed as artist studios in 2021 and the Radcliffe Building closed in 2023. In 2025, the Arts Centre left its site of 50 years at Great Linford in order to work city-wide.
Today Milton Keynes Arts Centre is a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England and delivers arts projects, events and activities across Milton Keynes, which are developed in partnership with the city’s residents and benefit thousands of people each year. Milton Keynes City Council has funded Milton Keynes Arts Centre since its inception and continues to fund the organisation in its mission to deliver accessible, high-quality cultural experiences to MK’s communities.
In April 2025, Dr. Camilla Alexander-White, Chair of Milton Keynes Arts Centre’s Board of Trustees said:
“Over 50 years, Milton Keynes Arts Centre has evolved with the city it was created to serve, creating opportunities for hundreds of thousands of its residents – from infancy to old age – to work with artists, to learn new skills and to feel part of a creative and inclusive community. The decision to leave our site at Great Linford has been a difficult one, but one made in order to safeguard the future of the Arts Centre - ensuring it is here to work with generations of Milton Keynes residents yet to be born. We view this next chapter of the charity’s evolution with trepidation but also excitement and look forward to working with diverse communities across the city for many years to come.”
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