A church community in Suffolk is celebrating the restoration of the village church’s roof – following a £100,000 fundraising campaign. St Mary’s Church in Bucklesham underwent an inspection in 2022, where it was found the roof was in dire need of repair.
Churchwarden and project leader Janet Ball, said: “The north roof was degrading, the clay tiles were breaking and there was a chance water would start coming in. If we didn’t do something about it, the whole of the church building would have been affected. St Mary’s is one of those rural churches which is loved by everyone in the village – we have a large team of volunteers who look after the church and the churchyard all year round.”
With work to repair the roof now completed, the community gathered on Sunday 15 September for a big celebration with cake and refreshments, party games and bubbles for the children.
Mrs Ball said: “It was a wonderful event and lovely to see so many people from the community, especially children, at the church to celebrate. It really shows how important the church is to the community.”
The majority of the money used to repair the church roof came from grants, including a generous donation of £50,000 from the Valencia Community Fund.
Donations were also received from the Garfield Weston Foundation, Suffolk Historic Churches Trust, the Benefact Trust, Belstead Ganzoni Charitable Trust and the Scarfe Trust.
The rest of the funds came from donations from the public, after a QR code was created and displayed in the church and online, and also from a village appeal.
Churchwarden Rosemary Watson said the church is a “focal point” for the village. “We have a monthly Church Library, which is always very well attended, and services three times a month including our All Age Praise family service taken by our three church Elders. We have just welcomed the local primary school for their harvest service here and had our own harvest service this weekend. We received a wonderful amount of produce from the school and the congregation which will be given to FIND (Ipswich Families In Need) with whom the church has had a long association! We have held theatre productions and concerts in the church and have recently removed a number of pews to give us more space for activities. But more than that, the church is an important focal point for the village, bringing people together, creating friendships and giving people a sense of belonging.”