St Mary-In-The-Castle Friends
To act as a watchdog group to oversee any alterations and management changes to St. Mary in the Castle, Pelham Place, Hastings. St. Mary in the Castle was opened as a church in 1828. By 1970 the church was deemed surplus to requirements and became derelict. In 1991 a group of local people formed FOSMIC to restore the building and open it as an arts centre, which they successfully achieved until 2003 when the council took back the lease. SMIC-F was formed to oversee subsequent development and endeavour to keep the building open to the public and organise occasional events in the beautiful auditorium. The lease was taken over by Mrs. Barbara Rogers March 2009 - September 2012. Buckswood School have provided funding to keep the venue open, and a board of trustees are now responsible for operating the building.