Scarborough's St. Mary's Church hold annual flower festival

The event was opened by Scarborough Deputy Charter Mayor Mrs Janet Jefferson who was accompanied by the Scarborough Town Crier.

The Vicar Rev. Richard Walker made a welcome address followed by a prayer and there was an address by David J. Royston, Chairman of the Friends of St. Mary’s.

The Friends are responsible to raise funds to support the Vicar, Churchwardens and the PCC to enable them to cover the costs of the upkeep and maintenance of the Church.

The Church has stood here for almost 900 years and it is our duty to ensure that it remains in good order for many more years to come for the Town and the visitors to enjoy.

There is currently scaffolding around the tower. The tower had become seriously damaged during a series of storms and has deteriorated since.

Work is currently underway to make the roof safe, repaired, resurfaced and made water tight. The weathervane is to be repaired and reinstated also the clock face is to be repainted and re-gilded.

Together with this the valerian plants currently invading various parts of the roof are to be removed to prevent further damage.

The costs of this important and most necessary work is in the region of £70,000.00, this mostly funded by the Friends.

David went on to say of the importance of increasing the number of members of the Friends.

For only £10.00 a year you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you have helped preserve this beautiful ancient and historic Church for generations to come.

Membership forms are available at the back of Church or by emailing the Chairman on [email protected].

Members receive bulletins of upcoming events, concerts, talks, exhibitions etc. and information about the progress of all restoration work.

The Flower Festival had 23 magnificent exhibits and was seen by almost 1,000 visitors over the course of the weekend.