Information

The Parish Magazine ‘The Quartet’ is published monthly and distributed to all households in the village. The magazine covers four parishes namely Higham, Holton St Mary, Stratford St Mary and Raydon, and contains a useful number of articles both from the Church and reports from various organisations within the villages. The magazine takes adverts from local businesses and is a good way of finding local builder, electrician etc. It is possible for any resident to place an article in the magazine .  There is also an event diary to let you know of local activities taking place.

If you would like to contact the QUARTET please address your correspondence to the Editor (preferably via E mail) : Erika Gray, Hamlin House, The Street, Ardleigh, CO7 7LD Email the editor

Village amenities

Stratford St Mary has a good range of facilities.

Buses run through the village mostly hourly during weekdays serving Ipswich and Colchester.

There is a  garage  that offers a full range of services including  fuel.

The Post Office and Village shop opens 7 days a week and has recently been updated and renovated and aims to provide a good variety of goods.This provides a dry cleaning service, newspapers and magazines (with a daily delivery service) and some banking services.

The Village Farm Shop – Hall Farm Shop – also opened 7 days a week – is situated next to the Parish Church of St Mary . It offers a broad range of locally sourced fresh produce, a delicatessen and gourmet food . There is also a plant section .

The nearest doctors’ practice is The Constable Country practice in East Bergholt.

The nearest dispensing chemists are situated in Dedham and East Bergholt. There is also a dental surgery in Dedham.

The village vets practice is situated in the old police house opposite The Anchor pub.

The Primary School in Strickmere is very popular and children attend from many villages in the surrounding parishes as well as from Stratford itself. There is a busy Parent Teachers Committee who organise many fundraising events. The school has a very good web site at;- www.stratford-st-mary.suffolk.sch.uk.

The PTA also has a web site at:- www.stratfordstmary-pta.co.uk

The local secondary school is East Bergholt High School in East Bergholt and a school bus takes children from the village to and from the school. The web site for the school is at:- www.eastbergholthigh.suffolk.sch.uk

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

Other places of worship for various religion can be found in the Local Yellow Pages under Places of Worship . In addition our regional newspapers list services every week .

There are two halls which may be hired for functions and are used by various groups. They are The Institute Hall, Higham Road and The Parish Rooms, Upper Street.

There is an active Youth club which runs one day a week in term time. Their web site address is:- http://ssmyouth.mysite.orange.co.uk/

There are many clubs and societies that run in the village, for all ages and interests from Basket Weaving to Scottish dancing, bell ringing and Karate.

Ther are three pubs in the village. The Anchor at the North end, the Swan in the middle and the Black Horse in the south end.

Mobile Library

There is a well stocked mobile Library Service operated by Suffolk Libraries, which calls at the village on Wednesdays, generally twice a month . Route 3

It has three stops in the village at :
The Black Horse : 11.05- 11.20
Tally Ho : 11.25 –11.45
Strickmere- School Lane : 11.50 – 12-10
(Suffolk Library Mobile 2 Route 3)

Calling on alternate Wednesdays
2008: June 11, 25; July 9, 23; August 6, 20; September 3, 17; October 15, 29; November 12, 26; December 10.
2009: January 7, 21; February 4, 18; March 4, 18; April 1, 15, 29; May 13, 27; June 10, 24.

This is a valuable service for the village so use it or lose it !

Swimming Pool

Local Swimming is available during Summer months at the Public Open Air Swimming Pool at the High School at East Bergholt.