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. As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes in our memories, it and any number of other bugs and viruses are still around, presenting real dangers for many people. We therefore ask that attendees at our meeting continue to observe sensible precautions before attending a meeting including taking a lateral flow test if necessary or by wearing a mask, particularly if you are showing any cold or flu-like symptoms. Thank you.

Organ Recital and Cheese and Wine Supper On 3rd May, the Friends welcomed and audience of over 40 people to an organ recital by the renowned organist James Thomas. Among the audience listening to a varied programme was the family of the Bacton parishioner whose generous bequest enabled the restoration of the organ to be completed. The recital was followed by a cheese and wine supper. Click here for full report and pictures. Village Fête and Draw The annual Bacton Village Fête took place on 7th June in the church, moved from the Manor lawn due to impending bad weather. Many village organisations provided stalls offering a variety of entertainment and games for all ages. The Friends’ Fête Draw took place later in the day as well as the ever - popular Wheelbarrow of Booze Draw. Local duo ‘Just Us’ provided musical accompaniment. Click here for full report and pictures. The money raised from this event, as with all others, adds to the impressive total that the Friends have raised so far which now exceeds £136,000 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 and the preparation of a report with recommendations for remedial actions.