The Friends of St Mary’s work to support the church authorities maintenance of Rye’s ancient church, which has been at the centre of the parish since early Norman times. Some may have noticed our recent projects.
In addition to installing CCTV as a deterrent to criminals and vandals, other work has focused on the churchyard. In 2018, to mark the centenary of the end of the first world war, we secured grade 2 listing for the town war memorial, ensuring long term protection of this important structure. We are now looking at measures to protect the stone surround which is regularly damaged by careless motorists.
For some time we have been considering how best to improve the footwells of the 14 benches scattered around the church. These are well used by citizens and visitors alike and we have often had complaints that in wet weather, soggy ground renders them unusable. Now plastic mats have been fitted. In time the grass will grow through and the appearance will be more natural.
In places there have been open rubbish and rusty dog waste bins. The latter have been removed and two new seagull-proof bins to replace old open ones are on order.
Many of the no dog litter signs have been replaced in an effort to encourage the many dog walkers who visit the churchyard to clear away their pet’s waste.
Our attention now turns to inside the church, where we aspire to fit lighting improvements to the lovely south window of the transept so that its splendour can be seen in low light conditions. A survey by experts is being planned.
All this work by volunteers goes on week by week to ensure that the church and its surroundings remain at their best.
Image Credits: Anthony Kimber .