St Mary in the Castle. Illustration by Thom Kofoed

Sponsor St Mary in the Castle

St Mary in the Castle is without a doubt a beautiful space in our town: from the crypt to the cupola, from the exterior to the interior, the building is an impressive centre point of our lovely town. Currently, St Mary in the Castle is run without any external funding – and the team there have sent out an SOS for sponsors and donations so that the building can receive some much needed TLC and its place as a hub of arts and entertainment and inspiring venue for all occasions can continue. HOT’s Zelly Restorick writes.   

I was lucky enough to enjoy a tour of the whole building and I immediately wished that I could seek out a team of local generous spirited craftsmen and women to give the building the TLC it needs – like one of those TV programmes where people gather and restore and renovate to former glory days in a matter of days or weeks. Dreaming aside, the St Mary’s team have now organised a sponsorship event to generate some money, so that the necessary TLCing can begin and the presentation of top quality entertainment can continue.

Although some set sponsorships have been offered – £5,000 to £100 – any contributions on either side of these amounts would be VERY gratefully received and appreciated. Every single £1 makes a difference.

Find out more about the building, the history, the trust that runs it, volunteering, the organisation’s ethos, their ambitions for St Mary in the Castle as an arts hub within the town and as a venue to hire for events and special occasions via St Mary in the Castle Building and Ethos and find out about upcoming events via St Mary in the Castle.

Please spread the word far and wide!

Scroll down beyond the invitation – RSVP to enquiries@stmaryinthecastle.co.uk –

and see some beautiful photos of St Mary in the Castle from days gone by.

Pelham Crescent c.1910 – we believe this photo was used for a halfpenny stamp (West Marina to Hastings Pier FB Page)

Shared by Mike Peckham: Grandma Beatrice with her mother Ellen Gildersleeve (1902)

St Mary in the Castle interior

Late 1950s

Shared by Leigh Kennedy – The circus comes to town, outside Pelham Crescent 1880’s (West Marina to Hastings Pier FB Page)

Mercy and Ian Betts 1959

Also in: Arts News