St Mary-at-the-Quay, Ipswich to be transformed into Heritage Wellbeing Centre

We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has invested in our innovative project with Suffolk Mind at St Mary-at-the-Quay, Ipswich. This project will see the medieval church of St Mary, which has been mainly closed since 1973, opened for the whole community as a Heritage Wellbeing Centre. The
centre will provide complementary therapies and will have a café open to all in this
fascinating area of Ipswich.

The HLF grant will enable the repair and adaptation of this medieval church to go ahead.

Loyd Grossman, Chair of the Churches Conservation Trust said:

""This is the great culmination of five years’ work between the Trust and Suffolk Mind, a highly productive and innovative partnership. We are very grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for their continued support to our projects. Five years ago St Mary at the Quay had no future but now we can arrest the decay and give the church a new life with a revived community interest.""

Robyn Llewellyn, Head of HLF East of England, said:

“This is an innovative project which unites two very different charities with the shared aim of creating a community wellbeing centre. We loved the idea of a redundant medieval church being brought back to life and once more becoming a key element in rejuvenating Ipswich’s waterfront area. Volunteering will be key to the success of this community-led project – something that we champion at the Heritage Lottery Fund and also very much in the spirit of last summer’s Olympic and Paralymic Games.”

Partner of Local law firm Birketts and Chair of the Campaign Development Board Oliver Gravell:

“This is excellent news for Ipswich, this project will help rejuvenate the area surrounding the church and will provide an important link between the docks and the centre of town as well as a valuable service for local residents.”

Sue Gray, business development, Suffolk Mind said:

“This is an exciting project that we hope will give people living in the community the opportunity to learn about how to improve their emotional health and wellbeing. We would like to thank all those who have
supported our bid. The HLF grant will help us to make this project a reality.”