Bath Abbey held a Great Bath Bake Sale in honour of the Great Bath Feast on Saturday 3rd October, raising funds for the Abbey’s Footprint project and two local food charities.
Photo courtesy of Deborah Coleman
The Abbey bustled with crowds keen to sample the foodie treats donated by bakers from across the city.
The event was successful in raising over £2000 for the Abbey’s public appeal Footprint Project and two local food charities FareShare South West and Bath Foodcycle.
The Abbey was swamped with food on the day thanks to the generosity of community groups, businesses and school children from all across the city.
The North Aisle was packed full of stall after stall of cakes, pies, buns and savoury delights.
Special guest Alan Barrett, who has produced show stopping cakes for London’s West End, impressed people with his sugar craft skills – producing thirty bouquets of intricate flower arrangements.
Interpretation Officer Ollie Taylor ran children’s bread and butter making workshops with his wife Jo, which proved to be a fantastic hit with the kids and their parents.
Katie McGill, Bath Abbey’s Fundraising Administrator, said after the event: “It’s been such a fantastic day. I have been humbled by the level of support shown for the Abbey and our Footprint Project.
“It’s been lovely to see so many friendly faces from our local community at this year’s bake sale. This is just the boost everyone needed to take us through the final few months of fundraising for Footprint.”
Laura Brown, Footprint Appeal Director, said: “It has been incredible to open our doors to the city’s community and be flooded with this level of generosity.
“Since last year’s Great Bath Bake Sale, we have made a fantastic amount of progress on our Footprint Project and are now in the final months of fundraising before our next application to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
“If all goes well, we could start work as soon as next summer. We have come such a long way, but we need to keep pushing to get us over the next few hurdles.”
Laura continued: “For hundreds of years, people have been worshipping, visiting and using the Abbey; last year alone we had over 420,000 visitors through our doors.
“All this puts a massive strain on the building – we are bursting at the seams! The floor is slowly collapsing, space is severely restricted, and the building is struggling to cope with the huge numbers of people who use the Abbey every day.
“Our vision for Footprint is to maintain and make the most of what we have in order to continue inspiring all for hundreds of years to come.”
For details on how to donate to Bath Abbey’s Footprint Project, visit www.bathabbey.org/footprint or get in touch with the fundraising team via email: [email protected].
