Woodbridge church launches Maggi Hambling painting raffle

St Mary’s Church, just off Market Hill, is trying to raise £250,000 to replace its broken system and “fireworks above the sea” after being in the cold for more than a year.

The church has started a fundraiser page where raffle tickets can be purchased at a cost of £10 each, which will run until next March and the winner being announced shortly after.

Fireworks above the sea by Maggi Hambling (Image: St Mary’s Church, Woodbridge)

Father Nigel Prior of St Mary’s Church in Woodbridge (Image: St Mary’s Church, Woodbridge)

This is the second winter without heating in the church after the boiler broke down last year, but the previous unit cannot be replaced like for like.

To help raise funds for the new expensive heat pumps, Father Nigel Prior reached out to Suffolk artist Maggi Hambling asking if she would be able to donate a painting.

Father Prior said: “This is our second winter without any heating after our boiler stopped working in November last year.

The boiler of the church stopped working last November, but St Mary’s is facing a large bill to replace it (Image: St Mary’s Church, Woodbridge)

“We are a bit stuck really, this is a Grade-I listed church that is the size of a cathedral and the boiler can’t be replaced like for like.

“The plan for the heat pump is fantastic, but it is very expensive with some quotes nearly £250,000.

Renowned Suffolk artist Maggi Hambling (Image: Douglas Atfield)

“I knew Maggi after I commissioned a painting in my previous parish and now I am working in Suffolk I thought I would be bold and ask her if she could donate one of her works.

“She has always been really generous and she is doing a similar thing to raise money for pancreatic cancer.

“It is not a huge painting but it is very vibrant and we aim to get between £10,000 and £20,000 for it which would be amazing.”

Who is Maggi Hambling?

Maggi Hambling was born in Sudbury, Suffolk in 1945 and attended the East Anglian School of Painting at Benton End near Hadleigh.

In 1980 she was appointed as the first contemporary artist in residence at the National Gallery and in 1995 awarded (jointly with Patrick Caulfield) the Jerwood Prize for Painting.

She is know for her famous sculptures such as A Conversation with Oscar Wilde, A Sculpture for Mary Wollstonecraft in London and also Scallop on the Suffolk coast but also is a renowned painter as well.

Hambling has donated her works for charity organisations and has long concerned with the effects of climate change.