The Friends of St Mary’s was founded in 2003 by villagers who wanted to ensure that the fabric of St Mary’s remained sound and, where appropriate, improvements are made to the church to help it fulfil its role at the heart of the village.
Each year between £3-4,000 of grants are made to St Mary’s to keep the fabric of the church in good condition, warm and welcoming.
Not all of the Friends are villagers; they may have a connection with the village through family or they may just have visited St Mary’s at some stage and fallen in love with it. Not all Friends are church goers – that isn’t necessary – what all the Friends have in common is that they believe the church occupies an important place in a vibrant village and, as the oldest building in this ancient village, it deserves to be looked after by us.
In addition to the annual grants we make for day to day maintenance of the church, we also fund or co-fund any works required in response to the Quinquennial Report. As its name suggests, this is a survey, commissioned every 5 years, of the condition of the fabric of the church and can potentially highlight concerns around the stability of the structure, the impact of adjacent trees, damp and woodworm. In fact all those things which are typical for a Grade II building with origins in the Twelfth Century.
But we are not rooted in the past and we work closely with the Parochial Church Council to identify opportunities to enhance the church’s facilities; for example by adding a much needed toilet and kitchenette. These facilities would greatly enhance the possibility of using the St Mary’s for events, thereby helping to raise the extra funds needed to maintain our church.
If you have enjoyed your visit to St Mary’s today and are either local or plan to come back and enjoy this church on a regular basis please consider joining the Friends of St Mary’s. You should find an application pack nearby.
Alternatively, if you would prefer to make a one off donation to the Friends of St Mary’s our account details are:
Account Name: The Friends of St Mary’s
Account Number: 02242898
Sort Code: 30-93-11
Please add your name to the payment so that we know who has sent it. Thank you for your generosity.