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Stratford St Mary has a good range of facilities for a small village, including 3 pubs, a farm shop and café, a primary school, 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 are located at Vale Garage, as above.
Other post offices are located at 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.
Gardens and Recreation Ground
There are two publicly accessible garden areas in the village, The Millennium Garden, at the junction of Lower Street and Upper Street and the newly acquired River Garden. opposite the Swan public house in Lower Street.
The former, was created by residents to mark the start of the new millennium in 2000 and is currently maintained by volunteer group VillageLife with funding from the Parish Council. The benches in the garden provide the possibility for residents and visitors alike to pause awhile, relax and just watch the world pass by. Further along Lower Street, where the road meets the river, the Parish Council has recently taken on responsibility for an area of river bank, to create a community amenity that will provide access to the river for boating or for just enjoying the ambience of our beautiful river (go here for more information).
The recreation ground, which contains the playground (see below), was gifted to the village in 1928 along with the building known as the Institute Hall. The Institute Field, as it is locally known, provides a sizeable, open, safe play area that includes, football goal posts and a basketball pitch with post and hoop. The area also has benches to permit parents to relax, while their youngsters play.
Playground
Within the Institute Field, there is an 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 inspection company and also risk assessed periodically by the parish council.
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 week, alternating with the residual rubbish (check collection day).
Dog litter bins: Bins have been positioned around the village at:
- The junction of School Lane with Upper Street;
- The Institute Car Park;
- The Millennium Garden and
- The Weir, Lower Street.
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
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:
Benefice Administrator: Frances Torrington: 01473 312046 Email: familytorrington@btinternet.com Please contact Frances to talk about baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals.
Churchwardens:
Jonathan 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: Steve Kite, 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. Heating and lighting are included.
Special rates can be arranged for regular bookings.
Contact: John Taylor 01206 323908.
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: 17th June, 15th July, 12th 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.