Welcome to the web site of the Friends of St Mary’s, Bacton. The Friends of St Mary’s, Bacton is a voluntary, completely secular, group set up to assist in the maintenance of the fabric of St Mary’s Church to safeguard it for future generations and to promote its use as a village asset. St Mary’s, Bacton, near Stowmarket in the heart of Suffolk, is an historically important building having a rare medieval Doom Painting as well as an unusual false double hammer beam roof and some fine wood carvings. The greatest challenge is the maintenance of the building itself. As any householder will know this is an ongoing and expensive business, even more so when that building is a fourteenth century traditional flint and mortar parish church. Our aim is to assist with funding of projects directed at maintaining or improving the building and to promote the church as an asset for the use of the local community. Why is it important? Because all of us, in our own ways, value St Mary’s: as a place of worship in some cases; because we were married there, perhaps, or have family buried there; for its beauty and the craftsmanship which went into it, or for what it records of the history of Bacton. And because if we - the people living in Bacton today - won't pay to keep the church in good repair, no-one else will.

Mission Statement The preservation, maintenance, repair and improvement of St Mary's Church, Bacton, its monuments, fixtures, fittings and furnishings and to promote public interest in it as a building of historic and architectural merit and in its use as a community asset for the village and surrounding district.

Friends meetings in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst it is tempting to think that the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us, there is currently something of a resurgence presenting very real dangers for many people so that, having re-started our regular meetings, we ask that attendees continue to observe sensible precautions, including taking a lateral flow test if necessary, particularly if they are showing any cold or flu-like symptoms or wearing a mask. Thank you.

Friends’ Village Fête and D-Day Commemoration Concert On Saturday 8th June, the Friends held a Village Fête on the lawn of Bacton Manor, when villagers were able to have a go at bowling, test the steadiness of their hand at Beat the Buzzer and try their luck on two draws. Musical accompaniment gave the day a distinctly party feel. On the Sunday, a D-Day Commemoration Concert marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. The money raised from these events, as with all others, adds to the impressive total that the Friends have raised so far which now exceeds £130,000 and allows us to make further funds available to the church to build on the £106,000 already granted since the Friends were formed. In that time we have supported numerous small projects as well as some more ambitious ones. The very first project supported entirely by funds from the Friends was to carry out repairs to the clerestory windows with further work carried out the following year. Another was to provide cushions for the pews to make the hard pews rather more comfortable and inviting. From these small beginnings, a number of projects have been partly or entirely funded by the Friends to repair or improve the fabric of the building. Perhaps one of the more glamorous and ambitious projects was the c onservation of the Doom painting on the chancel wall. This important Doom is now preserved for future generations. Subsidence affecting the north aisle continues to be a challenging problem for which the Friends have been involved in funding investigatory work and have just made another grant fund further survey work.

Annual General Meeting of The Friends of St Mary’s, Bacton. Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of St. Mary’s, Bacton will be held in St Mary’s Church, Bacton on Thursday 11th July 2024 starting at 7.00pm . All interested parties are invited to attend. Nominations are invited for the posts of Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and Membership Secretary which should be sent in writing to the Chairman to be received no later than the 27th June 2024. To be considered, nominees will require a proposer and a seconder at the meeting. The AGM will be followed by a Trustee’s Meeting and an Ordinary Meeting.