St Mary’s Church
Our church is a treasure which has been held in trust for 700 years by the village and the generations of people whose lives it has touched. There is a history of the church building on the church website.
About the Friends
The Friends of St Mary’s, Linton was set up in 1984 to help fund the work of repairing the church roof, and reconstituted in 2001 as a separate charity for the purpose of caring for the Church and Churchyard (Charity Commission No. 1088328).
Our objects as defined by the constitution are ‘the restoration, preservation and repair, maintenance, improvement and beautification of St Mary’s Church in Linton, Cambridgeshire, and of any monuments, fittings, fixtures, stained glass, furniture, ornaments and chattels in the church and of the churchyard belonging to the church.’
St Mary’s, like every other Parish Church in the country, receives no funding from national or local government, or from the Diocese of Ely, so the upkeep and repair of the building must be funded locally.
Committee
The Friends is run by a volunteer committee elected at the Annual General Meeting.
- Mr Andrew King (chair)
- Mrs Judith Tonry (secretary)
- Mr Hugh Paton (treasurer)
- Dr Margaret Cox (secretary)
- Mrs Rosemary Read
- Mrs Patricia Schofield
Three ex-officio members:
- Mr Richard Tonry (PCC representative)
- Mr David Watts (Churchwardens’ representative)
- The Rev’d Michael Wilcockson (representing the Incumbent)
President:
- Mrs Judy Nightingale
Fundraising
If you sympathise with our aims, please get in touch via the contact form below and we will send you a membership form. The minimum annual donation is £20 per person, though many give more. Members are entitled to vote at our AGM, held in May each year.
In addition to the income from membership donations, we run a modest programme of fundraising events throughout the year, and have benefitted from bequests, most notably from a generous gift in 2007 of the estate of our late organist, Richard Godel, which has been invested to increase our annual income. Nonetheless the costs of maintaining the church for us and generations to come are considerable and all assistance is received gratefully.
The church is the largest indoor community space in the village, available to all. Everyone is a potential Friend of St Mary’s.
Upcoming Fundraising Events
Find Us
Work Funded by the Friends
Since 2014, the Friends have funded all repairs and restoration resulting from the Quinquennial Inspections (a building survey carried out every five years) and also new chairs, external doors to the porches (including recent refinishing), drainage works and installation of a roof alarm system, with a total value of over £80,000.
Gallery
Belfry window prior to repair
New stonework – belfry window
South aisle pamments removed for the floor to be relevelled
South aisle pamments in situ
Tower viewed from south east showing restored belfry window
Freshly redecorated nave with new lights on
Freshly redecorated nave
Tower viewed from south east showing scaffolding for repairs to stonework
Nave with scaffolding in place for new lighting scheme and redecoration
Nave corbel
Nave with scaffolding, looking west at height, showing cleaned roof timbers
Nave corbel – be-whiskered
Nave corbel – mitred head
Nave corbel
The nave viewed from scaffolding prior to completion of the redecoration work and new lighting scheme.
Nave corbel
Nave corbel with praying hands
Uplighting in nave and chancel
Chancel arch and east window lighting
Lighting scheme – nave uplights, arch and east window lighting
Lighting scheme – nave and chancel arch lighting
Lighting scheme – nave and chancel arch lighting
Lighting scheme – nave uplights, arch and east window lighting
The chancel with arch lighting and altar lighting, viewed from the nave
Nave arch lighting
The chancel with arch lighting and altar lighting, viewed from the nave
Lighting scheme – nave arch lights, viewed from the chancel
Lighting scheme – nave arch lights
Lighting scheme – nave arch lights
Lighting scheme – nave up-lighting, chancel arch and east window
Lighting scheme – nave up-lighting, chancel arch and east window
Lighting scheme – arch up-lights and chancel illuminated
Contact Us
We are a friendly group and we would very much welcome you to join the Friends of St Mary’s.
Please contact us on: info@friendsofstmaryslinton.org.uk
or contact us through this website form.