When St Mary’s in Saltford, near Bath won a £23,000 second phase recovery grant from the Heritage Lottery fund, the church community felt that alongside the much-needed repairs to the church, the money should also be used to encourage more people to visit the beautiful historic building. They felt that sharing the history of the church in Saltford would illustrate the place St Mary’s has had at the centre of its community for more than a thousand years. And they believe that encouraging visitors to the building would create an opportunity to share their Christian faith.
Rector Revd Daile Wilshere says, “It is living the story, telling the story and discovering the story through the narratives of yesterday.”
One of the things the church community wanted to do was publicise the good news of their church to the wider community, to let the people of Somerset and beyond know where St Mary’s is. So, for the relatively small sum of £120 they purchased a Visit Somerset membership. Visit Somerset has a half price membership page for churches. Alongside images and information about St Mary’s it also enables churches to add a donate button with a contactless payment facility.
They also set about improving the visitor experience, creating resources which allow people to engage with church life when they visit St Mary’s. These include an activity sheet detailing the history of the building, and explaining what things inside the church were, such as the font, the alter and the pulpit. They also purchased a banner and created leaflets.
Of its wonderful history, one story stands out for its gruesome tale. Two hundred years ago, a woman, Frances Flood who, passing through the village in the 18th century, lost her feet in 1723 through gangrene after contracting smallpox and sadly died. What is unusual about Frances’ story is that her feet were buried in the graveyard of St Mary’s, but her body was transported more than one hundred miles away, to Devon.