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Thekla was built in 1958 by Büsumer-Schiffswerft W.&E. Sielaff at Büsum, Schleswig-Holstein for the Schepers family of Haren, Germany. Measuring 52.77m (173.2ft) from Bow to Stern, 8.82m (28.11ft) from Port to Starboard and powered by a Bohn & Kähler engine. The cargo hold was lined with Australian red jarrah wood which is very durable and water resistant which made it perfect for its life as a coastal trading vessel. It carried a variety of cargoes between Northern and Western European ports, particularly timber from ports of the Baltic Sea.
Abandoned and unloved for seven years after running aground off the coast of Northern England, the Thekla was left half submerged in a derelict English dock in Sunderland before being bought by Ki Longfellow and her husband Vivian Stanshall in 1982 alongside their project partners Peter Jackson & Anne Slydell. They assembled a small crew, most of which had no previous nautical experience, prepared the ship for sea and in 1983, sailed for 6 days and 6 nights and 632 nautical miles around the East coast of England before reaching their destination in Bristol’s Floating Harbour.
This move, and the opening of the venue was documented by Tony Staveacre for BBC’s Omnibus series. The full documentary can be streamed online, and was aired once again by the BBC as part of Thekla’s 40th Anniversary in May 2024. The documentary features aerial footage Thekla first sailing into Bristol under the Clifton Suspension Bridge, captured by Tony almost by chance – as the sailing crew did not tell the film crew what time they would arrive in the city.
Under the ownership of Ki Longfellow and her husband Vivian Stanshall, the Old Profanity Showboat hosted hundreds of theatre, cabaret, comedy and live music shows during its short two year existence, including Stinkfoot, a three hour musical comedy opera co-written by Ki and Vivian. The venue had a partnership with The Old Vic, who would often host lunchtime performances from students and local thespians.
The boat welcomed a host of Britain’s finest artists as both performers and guests and the plan was to sail it to New York to do the same across the Atlantic, but unfortunately The Old Profanity Showboat closed its doors in August 1986.
In April 1987, Peter Jackson reopened the venue as “The Thekla” alongside Andrew Price. It launched with a club event called ‘The Cooker’, which became a resident night at the venue alongside ‘Defcon’ ran by John Stapleton – who was one of the first people to launch a club event at Thekla.
In 2006, Peter Jackson made the decision to sell Thekla to DHP Family, who were looking to expand into Bristol. With the boat needing new expensive repairs, the torch was passed to DHP to keep the venue floating.
Since 2006 Thekla continues to operate as a landmark venue for club music under the new management of DHP Family, playing host to a variety of club brands such as fiftyone27, hospitality, fruity antics, shoestring, blowpop and many more. To this day, Thekla continues to be a staple of not only Bristol’s music scene, but the country’s.
If you want to read more about the history of the venue, The Complete History of Thekla, a heavily researched book created by the team that runs Thekla today is available to purchase online and over the bar on board.
