Our Village

OUR VILLAGE AMENITIES

Stratford St Mary has a good range of facilities for a small village, including 3 pubs, a farm shop and café, a primary school and 2 pre-schools and a post office and village shop.

Bus Service

The main bus service, serving Ipswich and Colchester, is provided by Carters which is the number 93 and runs through the village on a mostly hourly basis Monday to Friday, with a more intermittent service at weekends. Please go to www.suffolkonboard.com for more information, including an-up-to-date timetable.

Garage Services

We are lucky to have a small garage service provided by Vale Garage in Upper Street who offers a full range of services including fuel. They can be contacted on 01206 323103.

Post Office and Shop

The village post office and shop is in the process of being trasferred to the Vale Garage as above. Further details of the opening times for the Post Office to follow once this is finalised. Other post offices are located at Dedham, East Bergholt and Capel St Mary.

Farm Shop and Café

Hall Farm shop and café is situated next to the Parish Church in Church Road (known locally as the Millennium Avenue for its beautiful display of spring flowering cherry trees). It is open 7 days a week and offers a broad range of locally sourced fresh produce, a butcher, a delicatessen and gourmet food. Please go to www.hallfarm.com for further information.

Playground

There is a new enclosed playground for smaller children with a variety of swings, climbing and sliding equipment on a safe bark surface. The playground had an overhall in April 2017 and also now has a zip wire. The playground is inspected annually by an independent playgrounds company and also checked regularly by the parish council. In addition to the play area, there are two football goal posts and a basketball pitch and post on the main field, with seating and a sturdy bin.

Waste Management

Stratford St Mary feels it is important to conserve the environment by means of recycling, reuse and disposal.

Glass: There are two bottle banks accepting mixed glass and are sited in the car parks of The Swan and The Anchor pubs. The proceeds of the bottlebank at the Swan go to the village primary school.

Paper & Clothes: A paper and magazine bank and also a clothes recycling bin are situated just inside the gates of the primary school in Strickmere.

Compost: Residents are encouraged to compost their vegetable matter in their own back gardens. Babergh District Council has teamed up with getcomposting.com to provide an exclusive offer of reduced priced home compost bins, Water Butts and accessories. To find out more and to view the full range of products go to: www.getcomposting.com or call 0844 571 4444.

Garden Waste: A brown bin is available for an additional fee (currently £50 per annum) from Babergh and is collected every two weeks.

Other recycling: Paper, plastics, cardboard, aluminum and steel tins may be placed in the Blue Bin. These are collected every other Thursday alternating with the residual rubbish.

Doggy bins: Bins to put away dog excrement have been positioned around the village for use by dog-owning residents.

Doctors

The Constable Country Medical Practice is the nearest doctor's practice, located both in East Bergholt and Capel St Mary at The Medical Centre, Heath Road, East Bergholt, CO7 6RT. Surgery opening hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 6.30pm. Tel: 01206 298272 and 36 The Street, Capel St Mary, IP9 2EE. Surgery opening hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 6.30pm. Tel: 01473 310203. Website: www.constablecountrymedicalpractice.co.uk. There is also a doctor's practice at Ardleigh.

Chemists

The nearest dispensing chemists are:

Dedham Pharmacy, High Street, Dedham, CO7 6DE. Tel: 01206 322109. Website: www.dedhampharmacy.co.uk.

Day Lewis Pharmacy, Gaston Street, East Bergholt, CO7 6SE. Tel: 01206 298267. Website: www.daylewis.co.uk

And at the Constable Country Medical Practice, 36 The Street, Capel St Mary. Tel: 01473 310203.

Dental Surgeries

There are 2 dental surgeries local to the village. Dedham Dental Surgery, Princel Lane, Dedham, CO7 6HD. Tel: 01206 322498 and Capel Dental Practice, 63 Thorney Road, Capel St Mary, IP9 2LL. Tel: 01473 311130. Website: www.capeldental.co.uk.

Vets

Penrose & Partners is situated in the old police house opposite The Anchor pub in Upper Street. They are open Monday-Friday 8.45am-12.30pm and 2.30pm-6.30pm (4pm on Wednesday). Tel: 01206 323414. They are closed on a Saturday but their main branch at 70 Brinkley Lane, Highwoods, Colchester is open. Tel: 01206 842608. Website: www.penrosevets.co.uk

Primary School

Our local primary school is situated in Strickmere and is a very popular school with many children attending not only from the village but also the surrounding parishes. Email: office@stratfordstmary.suffolk.sch.uk. Tel: 01206 323236. Website: www.stratfordstmaryprimary.co.uk.

Pre-Schools

We have 2 pre-schools in the village; abc pre-school situated in the grounds of the primary school in Strickmere and Orchard Barns Kindergarten situated in Higham Road. Their details are as follows:

abc Preschool Email: abc.preschool@tesco.net. Tel: 01206 322466 - Ask for Sarah Simmonds. Website: www.abcpreschoolstratford.com.

Orchard Barns Kindergarten Email: info@orchardbarns.co.uk. Tel: 01206 323093 - Ask for Shelley. Website: www.orchardbarns.co.uk.

High School

The local secondary school is East Bergholt High School. There are 2 buses that take the children from the village to the school. Tel: 01206 298200. Website: www.eastbergholthigh.suffolk.sch.uk.

Churches

There are 2 churches in the village, the Parish Church of St Mary and the Evangelical Chapel in Upper Street.

Contact details for Stratford St Mary Church:

Rector: Revd Rosalind Paul, The Rectory, Raydon, IP7 5LH. Tel: 01473 310677. Email: Rosalind.paul@yahoo.co.uk. Benefice website: www.4marys.org.uk. Please contact the Rector direct to talk about baptisms, confirmations, weddings, funerals, or home visits. Her normal day off is Friday.

Churchwardens:

Christine Cousins (Elder). Tel: 01206 322530; Jonathan and Janet Dewey. Tel: 01206 322148

Contact details for the Evangelical Chapel:

Phil Wyncoll on 01473 310728. Email: philipwyncoll@btinternet.com. Website: www.stratfordstmarychapel.com

Halls available to hire

We have 2 halls which may be hired for a wide range of social functions and are used by various groups from the village. They are the Institute Hall, situated in Higham Road and The Parish Rooms, situated in Upper Street. Contact details are as follows:

Institute Hall

Chairman: Bill Davies on 01206 322990

Booking Secretary: Norman Woodard on 01206 323015. Email: ssminstitute.bookings@gmail.com

Current Rates are:

Regular Use £12.50; Casual use: Daytime £15.00; Evening £30.00; Whole Day £45.00. Caravan groups: £50 per day or part day.

The Parish Rooms

Letting fees are as follows:

1 session £17.00; 2 consecutive sessions £30.00; All day £38.00.

A session is 5 hours, i.e. morning/afternoon/evening. Special rates for regular bookings and heating and lighting are included.

Contact: Don Umfreville on 01206 322626.

Pubs

We have 3 pubs in the village, The Anchor in Upper Street and The Swan and Black Horse in Lower Street.

The Anchor on 01206 322143. The Swan on 01206 321244. Website: www.stratfordswan.com. The Black Horse on 01206 323112.

Mobile Library

Stratford St Mary - Route 11. The bus stops every 4 weeks on Wednesdays. Next dates are: 17^th June, 15^th July, 12^th August and stops at the following locations:

Black Horse - 11.05am to 11.20am

Tally Ho Corner - 11.25am to 11.45am

Strickmere (School Lane end) - 11.50am to 12.10pm.

The customer service line 01473 283838 is staffed 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday and can handle any library customer queries renewals and reservations to any general library queries. An answerphone is available outside of operating hours and people can also email help@suffolklibraries.co.uk.

There is also a library at Capel St Mary.