ST Mary’s Church in Sturminster Marshall is officially the best fundraising parish of the year for Dorset Historic Churches.

This comes after the parish raised nearly £5,000 in the Ride+Stride sponsored event in 2024 – an impressive result given that the village has a population of around 2,000.

Their efforts saw them awarded the Morshead Trophy from Dorset Historic Churches.

David Grant, the chair of the trust, presented the trophy to the church’s treasurer, Edward Warren, at a gathering in The Old School attended by a large number of supporters, including the vicar, Revd Jane Williams.

David said that Sturminster Marshall were very worthy winners of the trophy and had made a significant contribution to the total raised across 132 participating parishes in Dorset of over £104,000.

Mr Warren thanked the trust for this award and emphasised that it rewarded a large number of people who staffed the church on Ride+Stride day, made refreshments for participants and supported riders and striders, as well as actually raising sponsorship themselves.

The cash raised is used to make grants to churches in Dorset which are in need of repair – mainly to roofs and walls to keep out the rain.

50% of the money raised by each parish is returned directly to them, but the trust has still made grants of £1.16 million in the last 10 years.

These can be decisive in funding repairs, as each church has to find the money itself to carry out increasingly expensive restoration work.

Parishioners had prepared very generous and tasty refreshments for the event, which, together with a sunny evening, made for a happy celebration of the presentation.

The Ride+Stride 2025 takes place on September 13. To get involved, seek out a local rep or visit dhct.org.uk and follow the links to Ride+Stride.